Morning Glories (Flower)
by Decipher Philosophy
Summary: This is an alternate universe where Ino has a twin sister and Ino was chosen to be in team 7 instead of Sakura. Ino's level of skills had also changed since her potential and skills were heavily downplayed to match pre-time skip Sakura. There will be platonic Naruino, Sasuino, Kakairu, OC characters x Naruto characters, and other ships maybe.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except for Inoni.

A/N: Got inspired by Skania from tumblr. But hopefully won't find this because I won't update it frequently, and I added an OC to keep Team 10 around.

* = a signal that an explanation is provided at the bottom.

._._._.

 _"Ino, I heard that you like Sasuke. From now on we're rivals."_

Ino stood in front of the mirror, preparing herself for today, which was the day that she was going to be teamed up with Shikamaru and Chouji since she was the heiress of the Yamanaka clan. It was also the day that Sakura would also try to become a genin. Ino still remembered that day when her best friend dropped their friendship for a boy. She liked Sasuke, too, and wouldn't mind that they both did since friends can like a boy without ruining their friendship. It's not like he's the only one who existed. But without even the sound of a gun clocking, Sakura pulled the trigger.

"What are you so upset about?" A girl who looked similar to Ino asked at her bedroom door. They had the same face, except the other girl had a pixie hair cut with her own side bang covering her left eye instead of her right. She was wearing a high collared unbuttoned, sleeveless dark purple blouse with her torso wrapped in bandages, and her elbows covered in mesh armor. Her pouch was connected to long black pants, and she wore the standard ninja footwear.

"I'm not upset." Ino sounded frankly defensive as she tied up her hair. "And is that literally your outfit, Inoni? Why does it look similar to mine?!"

The girl joshed, "People gotta tell we're twins, but set as apart, sis. We don't want any mix up when they start calling out who's who."

"I think your choice in hairstyle already does enough of that." Ino got up from her vanity table to walk out of her room, and the two headed out. "I still wonder how in the world I ended up having a tomboy like you for a twin sister."

Inoni crossed her arms behind her head as she teased, "I still wonder how I ended up with the Academy top student like you for a twin sister when all you wanna do is talk about boys and file your nails."

"Hey! Girls can be both beautiful and dangerous! Just you watch me! I'll beat every kunoichi there is! Especially Sakura!"

"Speaking of disappointments." The twins stopped in front of their shop and saw Sakura coming their way. "I'll save ya a seat, sis." The ninja student ran off quickly to the academy, knowing full well that her sister would be doing some idiotic race with her so-called rival, Sakura. Inoni was very well aware that the pink haired girl did have the highest scores for written exams, but she wasn't anything special. Inoni honestly didn't see what Ino saw in that girl.

When the tomboy sister got there, she was welcomed by Ino's slackers.

"Oh hey, Inoni." Chouji greeted her. The two of them with Shikamaru being childhood friends of sorts. "Ino's not with you?"

"Nah. Fighting with Sakura like usual. Yo, lazy deer." She greeted Shikamaru. "Ready to have a wild ride with my sister as your squad leader?"

The twelve-year-old slacker genius groaned, "It's such a drag. You're lucky you have a twin sister. If I did..."

"I bet he'd be just as lazy as you, Shikamaru." Chouji pointed out, chuckling a bit when he imagined it.

"Whatever. Just let this day be over. I'm going back to sleep." He laid his head on his crossed arms, and fell to sleep with ease.

Just then, Ino and Sakura bust in and were immediately fighting over who sat next to Sasuke. Inoni rolled her eyes. She was about to pull her sister away until she caught a glimpse of the class clown, Naruto, and Mr. Too-Cool-For-You, Sasuke smooching it up! She howled in laughter while the girls beat up poor Naruto for stealing their crush's first kiss.

After Ino was done, she sat down in between her sister and Shikamaru since the spot was right behind Sasuke. Inoni telepathically talked to her, _"Hopefully after this, you won't have to pretend to be his fangirl."_

 _"Who said I'm pretending? I'm serious about Sasuke!"_

 _"Yeah, as serious as Shikamaru is about training."_

 _"Quiet you!"_

Iruka began giving out the names for each team. Ino wasn't interested in knowing who was with who. She'd hate the girl who'd end up with Sasuke since she can't, but it was her destiny to continue on with the ino-shika-cho tradition. Not that it was a bother at all. She was all for making her clan proud. She just wished it wasn't with Mr. Such-A-Drag and The Kind Glutton.

However when Iruka called out for the members of Team 7, he said, "Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke Uchiha. And Ino Yamanaka."

"Wait, don't you mean Inoni?" Ino called out.

"Not at all." Their teacher of four years explained, "As you must have known, the reason for why certain students are grouped together is because of their compatibility. Naruto has the lowest scores of the class while Sasuke has the highest in all scores except for cooperation. Something that you have excelled at Ino. Yours, Chouji's, and Shikamaru's parents have agreed that you would be better suited for this team while your twin sister, Inoni, who was the first born to begin with, will take place in team 10 with Shikamaru and Chouji, and she will carry on the tradition of your clans instead."

"WHAT?!" The clan members cried out in shock.

Inoni was more out of anger before she slammed her hands on the desk and stood up. "You have got to be kidding me! We weren't informed about this! What makes Mr. Golden Doofus and Emo Prince here special? My sister have been training her butt off to take on as the heiress of our clan, and because of some social rejects, she's stripped of that!"

"Oi! Shut up, Inoni!" Naruto yelled at her.

Sasuke was also pissed off, but kept his cool.

"QUIET!" Iruka yelled out, and all the children obeyed. "Inoni, your sister is still the heiress of your clan. Think of this as splitting your duties. As the first born, you shouldn't be exempt from your responsibilities to your clan, so your parents agreed that you will take on the tradition of upholding your clan's alliance while Ino will continue her training to be the one to take your father's place. Everything has already been decided, so sit back down, and not another peep! You understand?"

Inoni still wanted to argue, but Ino scolded her, _"Sit down, Inoni. You heard what Iruka-sensei said. Our parents decided this."_

The twins fiercely glared at each other.

 _"Don't tell me you want this? What?! Is Sasuke that precious to you!"_

 _"You know better than that."_ At the sound of Ino's reluctant, yielding tone, Inoni regretted her mental outburst of anger.

 _"I'm sorry."_ She stomped out of the classroom despite Iruka's reprimanding cries.

Ino wished she could do the same, but she was the good child. A part of her was happy that she teamed up with Sasuke, but a majority of herself was panicking. She had been mentally, emotionally, and physically training herself to pick up the slack of Shikamaru and Chouji, so they could succeed. Now all of those years of hard work was flushed down the toilet, and what seemed to be worse was when she saw Sakura staring at her with horrified eyes. Her former childhood friend had been working hard as well to try to beat Ino at being a good kunoichi of ninjutsu and love. Sakura was far from ever beating Ino in ninjutsu, and now that she was teamed with Sasuke, it looked like the final blow of defeat to Sakura's ego.

Ino felt both guilty and righteous for hurting her. She wanted to set things right, but unlike Inoni who was going to argue with their father, Ino knew everything had been case closed.

After that ended, everyone filed out, and the teams were to meet their sensei at the afternoon. Shikamaru and Chouji were by Ino's side, and they had their meals at the veranda of her place.

"What a drag. I can't believe they paired you up with those two."

"Inoni's right. This isn't fair to you, Ino. But I guess you must be pretty excited to be paired up with Sasuke."

"...I guess." Ino let out a heavy sigh. "What I mostly feel is terrified. What were my parents thinking? I bet Inoni's already getting down to the bottom of that. You guys already know my clan's sacred technique leaves me vulnerable, so I have to trust one of those two to watch over my body. I'd be overjoyed if Sasuke did that, but both him and that Naruto guy are close-ranged fighters."

"Then don't use it." Shikamaru reasoned, "That technique wasn't meant to be used for battle anyway. Just learn your other clan's techniques, and if you need us, it'd be troublesome, but we'd help those guys learn how to support you."

"Really?"

Chouji answered with his mouth full of chips. "Of course! We were supposed to be your teammates, but even though we're not, doesn't mean we can't help each other out. Although, Shikamaru is the one who'll be helping you out mostly." Shikamaru sighed at that fact.

Hearing this made Ino relax somewhat. She just hoped that their sensei was reliable, too.

After finishing her lunch, she made her way to the classroom. Yet, she paused when she heard Sakura's voice loudly crying out. Ino quickly hid behind a tree, so as to not interrupt, but know what was going on.

"Sasuke, I love you! I always have since I first saw you! I know you barely know me, but I love you so much that I can't stand it! I'd do anything for you!" Sakura confessed with all her heart. Ino didn't know how to feel about hearing this heartfelt confession. She liked Sasuke, too, but Inoni's teasing always made her wonder if her love was strong. Hearing the love and desperation coming out of Sakura's voice really made her question her own love.

"Sasuke, I-!"

"Shut up."

Though it was just a second long pause, the world seemed to stop time for the two girls listening to him. When the world did move, it felt like gravity increased it's pull on their feet and hearts.

"It's like you said. I don't know you, so why would I care about anything you say." That was a rhetorical question.

Sakura still tried to answer, but her mouth was left silently agape by his next words.

 _ **"You're annoying."**_

Ino froze at those words. Her heart leaped to protect Sakura, but her legs remained frozen when she remembered what Sakura did to their friendship. Yes, she understood that her best friend wanted to get out of her shadow, but to end it the way she did? Ino still couldn't forgive her for that.

She watched as Sakura watched Sasuke leave her, and sat down on the bench crying. Ino wanted to comfort her, but she just remained at where she was, and remembered the happier days of their friendship, but also the pain during the aftermath of when it was over. She felt justified in holding her grudge, and reasoned that she was also helping Sakura out by not looking like she pitied her as if she lost.

Sakura cried for a good while that Ino thought she would be late for her meeting with her sensei, but Naruto came around, insistingly asking her of what's wrong out of worry. However, he only upset her further, which earned him the role of her punching bag before she stormed off.

Ino sighed at Naruto's lack of tact, but his caring attitude towards Sakura wasn't missed from her watchful eyes. She stepped away from the tree to look down at the harmed Naruto. She loudly sigh to show her disappointment. "Hey Naruto. We have to get going."

"Huh?" The blond blinked at the female voice, and looked up from the ground where Sakura had him lay. "Oh, it's _you_." Naruto grimaced at the sight of her. "Just so you know, I'm not happy being on the same team as you either!" He stubbornly declared.

Ino didn't feel insulted since she saw Naruto as an immature boy, and as a future clan leader, she knew how to babysit immature boys. "Yeah, yeah, come on. We're going to be late for class."

"Mmh?" Naruto blinked at her.

"What?" Ino thought she had something on her face.

Naruto looked at her suspiciously. "Hmph!" He snapped his head away from her and walked away indignantly. It was Ino's turn to blink at him.

 _"What was that about?"_

Naruto had always been a weirdo to her. She saw him as the class clown like anyone else. She wondered how in the world did someone with no ninja talent like Naruto could've graduated from the academy. He was definitely going to be the weak link of their team in combat, but to be fair, she was also aware that he was an orphan. Unlike her, who had been trained since birth to be a strong and efficient ninja and leader by her father, Naruto practically had no one besides Iruka-sensei.

She figured that since Naruto was able to graduate, she could give him the benefit of the doubt, so she followed him to the classroom where the other students were at. Sasuke was already sitting and looking serious and mysterious as usual. Ino felt her face get a bit warm at the sight of his handsome face, but then she remembered what happened with Sakura earlier, so her feelings were a bit wary at the moment. She watched Naruto and him have eye contact. What happened earlier was fresh in their minds that they quickly looked away, trying not to vomit. Ino had the same feeling, but let it go.

She looked around for her sister, and her eyes landed on Sakura who were sitting with her new teammates. It was obvious that the girl had cried and was depressed, and Ino wanted to comfort her, but she knew better.

It looked like her sister was nowhere to be seen, and Ino couldn't connect with her telepathically, so she just stood with Shikamaru and Chouji. They asked where her sister was, and weren't surprised that she didn't know. They sighed, and waited. While they did, they were fully aware of their now-former-classmates' stares, especially the ones from the girls. The female eyes glared hatefully at Ino who they thought just had to have everything.

She belonged to a prestige clan who happened to be close and friendly with the hokage's clan, and everyone knew that the hokage's own favorite son would've been their sensei, which meant that their team was already a shoo-in to take the four* genin team spots available. It didn't help that Ino wasn't just only privileged, but she was practically the queen of the academy.

Her and Sakura were the top beauties of the class that the boys from the younger classes were jealous of them for having such beautiful girls. And plenty of the boys argued of who was prettier. Sakura seemed to gain the most favors in beauty, so she was well recognized for her looks and her smarts, but her short and violent temper and lack of ninja skills weren't ignored.

Ino may not be deemed the prettiest or smartest in the academy, but she was the most talented among them and the most likable. These being proven by her grades and her plentiful love confessions, which she turned down kindly. Everyone knew the blonde was sharp tongued, pushy and flirtatious, but her bright and supportive personality mixed with her talents as a kunoichi made her an ideal girlfriend. Because of this, everyone thought Ino had more of a chance to be Sasuke's girlfriend. Now, they were just waiting for them to hook up much to almost everyone's disapproval.

Ino could hear all the girls loudly whispering encouragements to Sakura to not give up, and win Sasuke over since they preferred her over Ino any day. This helped Sakura feel better and become determined again.

The Yamanaka heiress ignored this since she was used to being bashed behind her back, and knew that acting ignorant was more hurtful than giving attention. Shikamaru glared at the girls while Chouji showed Ino his support and concern.

Soon the new jounin teachers arrived, and took their teams with them. When Asuma arrived to take Shikamaru and Chouji, they gave Ino their good lucks before leaving. The blonde watched everyone leave, which left her with her new teammates alone. She wasn't sure of what to do. She thought of being the usual her, and playfully flirt with Sasuke, but the thought of Sakura made her not in the mood to do so. And Naruto seemed to not like her for some reason. She tried to think of what she may have said that would offend him since she knew she had a loose tongue, but nothing came to mind.

She decided the best thing to do was just sit down, and wait for their new teacher to break the ice. She knew it wasn't like her to sit out from being social, but she really had no idea of what to say.

Sasuke looked Ino's way, surprised by her aloofness. He expected some annoying, loud, flirtatious holler, but he figured that this team up really did jar her being. He also heard the earlier girls' loud whispering to Sakura to win him over, but he didn't care about that. He felt nothing for the blonde who was simply a blank face to him among all the other female blank faces, but she did have some of his respect since she did beat him in taking the top seat in the academy, and was only second to him when it came to other skills other than cooperation. He thought that as long as she kept her annoying attitude down a level, then this team up might actually work.

Naruto was just complaining in his mind about how he was teamed up with the worst people. One was his greatest rival, and the other was the greatest rival of the girl he liked, the idiot fan of the guy he hate, and an all around terrifying person! He believed that he really had the worst of luck!

After an hour passed, Ino and Naruto were getting impatient.

"Geeze, did our sensei get lost on the way here?!" Ino complained. Naruto stuck his head out the door and looked both ways. "See him?"

"Nada! What the hell?! Why is our sensei so late! Everyone already left with their sensei and Iruka-sensei also left!" Naruto grimaced at this tardiness.

Ino groaned while Sasuke just kept quiet. Then Naruto caught their attention when he began placing one of the chalkboard erasers at the top of the door since a bucket of water wouldn't work.

"Naruto, what do you think your doing?" Ino questioned him, though it was obvious.

Naruto chuckled, "That's what he get's for being late!"

Ino thought it was stupid, but it was a ridiculous sort of stupid, so she giggled.

Sasuke also couldn't help letting out a laugh, "Pfft. As if a jounin would fall for such a stupid booby trap."

"But it'd be hilarious if he did!" Ino snickered at the thought. "Hey Naruto, maybe you can make it better if you added my perfume to it! Then if it was a guy, he'd be smelling like flowers!"

"Good idea! Gimme! Hey, I didn't know you were into pranks!"

"No way! Pranks are so beneath me, but I will make exceptions!" She spoke with a slight flirtatious tone, and sprayed the chalkboard eraser with her perfume. "Let's see how our new sensei will like that."

Sasuke covered a snort. He was also deeply surprised by the girl's willingness to get in on one of Naruto's pranks. He wasn't sure if she was literal or just acting to get on Naruto's good side.

Their teammate-prankster put back the eraser, and they waited. It didn't take long for it to drop and make a mess on a silver haired man's head. Naruto guffawed at his face, Ino giggled behind her hand wile Sasuke was seriously questioning this guy.

However, the bright mood was dropped when the man opened his mouth for the first time, "Hmm...How should I say this? My first impression is...I don't like you guys."

That put a downpour on their moods, but Ino was quick to open her mouth to show her disapproval without a care if this man was a jounin. "It's not like you made a good first impression. What sensei shows up two hours late to meet the team he's supposed to test if they're good enough to be genin. Punctuality is supposed to be one of your qualities as a jounin."

"Your a mouthy little girl, aren't you." The jounin commented calmly. "If I remember correctly, you're the daughter of Inoichi. The number one interrogator of the interrogation unit, and the head of your clan. I'm sorry to tell you princess, but now that you won't be the one taking on the responsibility of continuing the tradition of your clan, you won't get the easy way out."

Ino cocked her pretty head to the side with piercing, blue eyes and a hard smile. "Are you implying that I got to where I am out of privilege, and my clans traditions don't care about the quality of their future leaders? If that is so, that is sadly very obnoxious of you to think, sensei. So here is my first impres-no- Here's a piece of advice. Have the hokage assign us a new sensei because a man who can't do his own homework on his new squad members, and shows up late, obviously doesn't have what it takes to make ninjas out of us."

Naruto and Sasuke thought they heard a mic drop because Ino just let out the sickest beat down to their new sensei. Ino was actually panicking inside because as much as she applauded herself for being brave, she just mouthed off to a man that could kill her in a split second. That wouldn't be very mature or ethical, but this would lead to a lot more hardships than she was asking for.

Now, their sensei was glaring right at her, and she knew the fear was evident in her eyes, but it was too late to back out now, so she just took a deep breath through her nose and did her best to not let the shaking of her legs behind the desk be evident.

Kakashi approached her, and all their hearts stopped as their bodies froze at what he was going to do. The man came a little bit closer, and bent down to meet her at eye level. Ino's innocent blue eyes with specks of green in them were dilated when they met with the pupils filled with utter darkness. Her legs stopped shivering entirely, and she just waited for whatever was to come. Running away didn't look like an option.

"You..." The man breathily growled. Everyone felt goosebumps, and Ino swore she just pissed herself a little, and was glad she was wearing kotex to not soak her underwear.

"I like you."

What?

The students stared at him in complete shock. The man seemed to be smiling under his mask. He turned to the two males and proposed, "Now that I'm here, let's move somewhere a little less..." He touched his head, which left the white chalky substance on his hand. Everyone could definitely smell the floral perfume. "Chalky."

The kids sported their best smiles for him.

They all moved to a rooftop, and Kakashi told them to tell them their likes, dislikes, dreams, and other things. They had him introduce himself first. His name turned out to be Hatake Kakashi who had no desire to tell them anything really. Ino felt annoyed, but she already played her tough card, so she was just going to let this day end with no more troubles.

Kakashi then had Naruto go first, and other than his name, his likes and dislikes revolved around ramen and iruka-sensei, which made Ino furrow her brows at his obsession with food.

"And my dream is to surpass the hokage and then have the people of this village acknowledge my existence!"

 _"Acknowledge your existence? They already do that with how you go around doing pranks all the time, and how do you expect to be hokage when you were dead last?"_ Ino thought, breathing a sigh through nose, but she looked over to Naruto with open eyes. _"But you did graduate somehow, and you sure do have the energy to keep going. I still don't think you can be hokage, but I'm willing to see how far you'll go."_ She felt a bit more interested and a bit disappointed at the fact that his hobby was pranking. This boy definitely had no idea what it meant to be hokage.

It was Sasuke's turn, and Ino was all ears to hear something personally from him. He was always such a closed case that she truly didn't know what to expect.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are a lot of things that I don't like, and I don't really like anything. And...I can't really call it a dream, but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan, and..."

Ino's eyes widened and her face fell at his next words.

 _ **"To kill a certain man."**_

Ino felt a chill. She knew about what happened to Sasuke's clan, but she didn't know the finer details. She couldn't properly know what to think about this when her turn was called.

"Huh, oh." She relaxed herself to answer cheerfully to give a better impression to their sensei. "My name is Yamanaka Ino. What I really love are flowers and the meanings they hold, and what I dislike are fatty foods and sashimi. My dream is to marry a handsome, intelligent guy. Oh, and my hobby is shopping!"

 _"She is a young girl after all."_ Kakashi figured. He went on to tell them that they were going to start off tomorrow with survival training since only twelve graduated students will pass. Naruto and Sasuke were shocked, while Ino wasn't since she had been well informed already, but she did heed his warning to not eat breakfast.

After they got their instructions, the meeting was over. Ino was worried since she didn't know what the test will be or if she would actually get along with her new teammates. It didn't hurt to try. Her heart wanted to talk to Sasuke first, but then the thought of Sakura made her hesitate once again. She knew she was being silly for letting her former friend get in the way of her openly interacting with anyone, especially Sasuke. However, she couldn't help feeling like she would become a terrible person to take advantage of the opportunity she had. She liked Sasuke, but she always knew she cared for Sakura more, and wanted her to be happy.

So she just called out to Sasuke just to say in her usual friendly, flirtatious way, "Hey Sasuke, let's do our best tomorrow!"

"Hn." Was the only sound he made as he walked off coolly.

Though rude, Ino couldn't help falling for that bad boy attitude. She then turned to Naruto who looked fired up to beat their new sensei. The girl found that ridiculous and somewhat cute in a way. She knew that her and Sasuke won't have a problem, but the teams required three people, so she figured she should try to get along with Naruto even though he didn't like her for some reason.

"Hey Naruto."

"Hm?" The boy looked over to her, confused, and then suspicious.

"Don't look at me like that." She scolded lightly. "I just wanted to say let's do our best tomorrow."

Naruto still held his suspicious look, but it was needless to be rude and reject the cheer, so he just said with child-like caution, "Yeah, you too."

Ino thought he was weird, but it was the best she could get. Gotta take baby steps since he wasn't Shikamaru or Chouji. They went their separate ways.

She went home, and she wasn't surprised to hear her sister yelling above the flower shop. Her mother was smart to close the store because the deep, monstrous yell that could raise itself as if a banshee was taking form would scare the customers away. She sighed as she made her way upstairs, and was greeted by Inoni having a shouting match with their father who just came back from work early for this since doing it at night would disturb their neighbors. From the look of how red Inoni's face was, they had been at this for almost ten minutes.

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT WHAT YOU GUYS THINK IS BEST CUZ ALL OF THIS IS BULLSHIT!"

"INONI! I AM TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO YOU THAT WE JUST WANTED YOU TO TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY AS THE FIRST BORN OF THE YAMANAKA CLAN!"

"WE'RE NOT IN THE FUCKIN' OLD AGE! YOU TREAT THESE TRADITIONS AS IF THEY'RE WRITTEN IN STONE! BUT WHEN SOMETHING DOESN'T GO HOW YOU FUCKIN' LIKE IT, YOU'LL DO WHATEVA DE FUCK YA LIKE!"

Ino just went to the kitchen to help her mother prepare dinner. She was making food that wouldn't stain or leave crumbs on sheets since it's obvious that Inoni was going to eat in her bedroom. Usually a parent wouldn't let their child speak so rudely to them, but discipline that would bound or beat a child to become "good mannered" wouldn't work on Inoni who only became violent and more determined to argue for her beliefs. The only way to handle this was by stubbornly arguing with her until she's done. This harsh ritual actually helped keep their father on his toes and continue to endure hours of arguments and other problems during interrogations.

When it finally settled down after another ten minutes, the family sat down for dinner. Their father asked Ino with cautiousness trying to sound casual, "So Ino. How was your first day with your new sensei? I heard that it was Kakashi Hatake. He's a very talented ninja, so you're going to learn a lot from him."

After the first impression that guy gave, Ino highly doubted that. "Whatever you say dad. It wasn't so bad. I'm still shocked that you made such a decision without consulting me first. You betrayed not only my trust but also my privacy. I understand that how teams are chosen is out of my hand, but the least you could've done was alert me."

Inoni was about to add to that, but her mother covered her mouth.

Her father had the decency to look genuinely guilty. "I know, and I deeply apologize, but this decision was made last minute. You should understand that assigning teams is a heavy task since your teachers and other members involved had to consider every aspect of a student and pair them with the most suitable teammates. Otherwise, we may lose good ninjas along the way. You being teamed up with Shikamaru and Chouji were decided and was meant to happen, but the hokage himself needed a born leader."

Inoni opened her mouth before it could be covered again, "So the guy played favorites."

Her father held back his voice, "The hokage was taking into consideration for the future of all ninja children, and you, Inoni, could use some lessons on being a leader since Shikamaru and Chouji are going to need you to be their leader. You're not the type to let family down, so accept this." His daughter glared at him, but she kept silent. He then looked back at Ino, "And from what I hear, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki were teamed up because the Uzumaki boy will need all the help he needs from someone who can pull his weight, but the Uchiha boy isn't a team player. That's why you were chosen, Ino. You have to be the glue for this team."

Ino felt a strong yet soft feeling of pride yet discomfort for this new role she didn't prepare herself for. "If that's what the hokage need me to do, then I guess I have no choice. But it's not going to be easy. Sasuke and Naruto hate each other's guts, and you say that Kakashi guy is great, but he's seriously weird. He made us introduce ourselves but he didn't say anything about himself. And he was even late! And fell for a stupid prank pulled by Naruto! I swear! Not even Sasuke would make things easier in this team. And-"

And so, Ino went on full gossiping and ranting mode during dinner while everyone else either made a comment or simply ate their dinner in peace.

._._._.

The next morning, Ino considered the threat that Kakashi made that she would puke if she didn't eat breakfast. Well, real ninjas would end up starving in real missions, and the guy might actually come on time this time, so she told her mom that she wouldn't have breakfast. But her mother insisted that she at least eat an apple since even ninjas without food would scavenge for some. Her mother quickly sliced the apple in half, scooped the seeds out, and gave one half to Ino while the other went to Inoni who was also told to go light on her meal.

The twins took them and ate them on the go.

"UUUUUGH! I don't wanna do this!" The tomboy twin whined.

"You were going to do this whether you were paired up with those slackers or not."

"But I hafta listen to lazy deer whine and see fatso fill his mouth. Like why the fuck does the Yamanaka always have to be the one responsible for these rejects?"

Ino sighed, agreeing with her sister, but also encouraging her. "It can't be helped. The Yamanaka clan's hidden jutsus require us to have beauty, brains, and strength both inside and out. It's the price for being part of a prestigious clan."

"No wonder all the girls hate us. Dad did say he was pretty popular with the girls like your precious emo was."

"Hey! That emo has a name you know! Sasuke! Saaasukeeee!" Ino sounded it out for her twin to say it, but Inoni didn't bother.

"Whatever. Just don't go falling for him for reals. You know the clan's rules."

"I know." Ino really didn't need a reminder since she always reminds herself. "Just let me enjoy this at least. Girls like me can't help falling for the cool boy after all." She couldn't help blushing a little at the thought that she was going to see Sasuke soon.

"And pink haired loser?"

The blush quickly faded away when the fresh memory of Sakura being rejected came back. Ino's feelings quickly went haywire, but she controlled herself, and yelled, "Hey! No one but me can call that billboard brow a loser! And if she still wants to fight for Sasuke's affections, I won't stop her! But she better fight harder since I'm in the lead! Anyway, your test is that way, so see you if I don't get a date with Sasuke after we pass!"

Inoni stuck her tongue out in disgust before playfully grinning as she ran towards her destination. Ino went on her way to the training grounds where she was not surprised to see Sasuke already present. Naruto was nowhere to be seen yet which is no surprise since its actually fifteen minutes before the designated time. Despite how Sasuke had treated Sakura, that was their business, so Ino acted as her usual flirtatious self.

"Sasuke!" She gushed the name.

Sasuke was used to being called in such a way, so he just spared her a glance before stoically greeting, "Hey."

Ino felt her inner self squeal at his absolute coolness. She continued on with the conversation happily, "Looks like Naruto isn't here. Let's hope that guy shows up or I'm going to break down his door and give him an earful! Let's also hope our sensei comes here on time, too. Maybe he did have a mission before he had to come see us. My dad called him a great ninja, but he's still really weird but also really scary. I didn't think I would come out alive after my whole show of bravado. I just couldn't help it after he insulted me like that, you know!" Ino got comfortable at one of the wooden posts. Sasuke didn't say a word, which she didn't mind. She just went on to say, "I just hope our sensei is serious about training us because if he isn't, then that means that I'm going to have to train Naruto myself to get him at our level or we won't even pass the chuunin exams with him on board. That idiot never listened in class, and just like Iruka-sensei said, he has the lowest grades. But I'll give him credit that he has more energy than me that I get tired just looking at him. He also seems to not like me for some reason. We're going to have to work on that. Do you want to join us train, Sasuke?"

"Hm?" Sasuke looked over at her, looking that he heard, but didn't compute.

Ino paraphrased her words, "I asked if you'd like to train with me and Naruto if our sensei is hopeless. Even if Naruto doesn't want to, I'll drag his sorry bum to this training field if I have to."

"You talk a lot." Sasuke commented.

Ino was surprised by that, but didn't take offense to it since boys are dumb about girls. Surprisingly, Inoni was as well, but oh well.

She giggled, "Of course, silly. Girls have a ton of things to say since they pay attention to more details than guys do. But if you need peace and silence, I don't mind just humming to myself." She placed her finger in front of her lips and winked. Sasuke didn't react at all, but that was okay. "So training? You, me, Naruto?"

Sasuke looked away as he answered, "I guess if we do want to pass the chunin exams, I'll join. That loud idiot might be more than you can handle."

"Oh please. Have you met my sister? If it weren't for me, she would've just ran off with Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba to cause chaos. Training Naruto should be a breeze! It could also help if we figure out a strategy to incorporate my Yamanaka clan's skills with your Uchiha skills and Naruto's...Naruto." She said that in the kindest way she could. "I'm still pretty slow with doing my clan's most prized jutsu: the mind transfer jutsu. It will let me transfer my mind into someone else's mind. However the drawback is that it takes time to build up the chakra, so I need my target to stay still because if I miss, I won't be able to wake up for awhile. That would be bad during a mission, but I guess I could focus on my clan's other jutsus to help us out."

"That might be a good idea. The Uchiha clan's jutsus don't specialize in binding anyone down, and I doubt that idiot could do it without endangering his own life."

Ino was saddened by this since she worked really hard to master that jutsu, which Inoni did get a hang of, but wasn't pleased with the risks that came with it. "I guess for the time being, I should work on my taijutsu. I would really like some pointers from a genius like you, Sasuke!" She flirted, but was really honest. It would be a bonus to learn from Sasuke!

"Heh." Sasuke couldn't help the small chuckle that came out. He was really surprised by the conversation they were having. He was honestly suspecting her to just try to flirt with him until he agreed to date her, but instead they were talking about training. He was about to say something, but then the cry of an idiot caught their attention.

"Hey! I'm here! You didn't start without me did you?!" Naruto looked out of breath after running all the way to them.

Ino got on her feet to scold him, "No! But you almost were! Aren't you aware that you should arrive earlier than the designated time!"

"Heh. Heh. Sorry. I stayed up late, and my alarm clock-"

"No excuses! Geeze! You do know that our fate as ninjas hang in the balance today, don't you?! What would've happened if our sensei actually came early, and disqualified us because of you!"

"Hey! He's not here, so there's no need to be so loud in the morning!"

"Of course I have to be loud! You had Iruka-sensei yelling at you to pay attention than actually teaching," She pulled his ear. "So you better listen up, and don't be late next time!"

"So what! Our sensei is late himself!" Naruto pulled away, and held his pounding, red ear.

"That may be only a one time thing!"

Sasuke watched as the two bickered over Naruto's sloppiness. Eventually the two got tired of yelling at each other, and got comfortable at the wood posts in silence. It remained that way for almost half an hour before Naruto began to complain, and Ino told him to suck it up. That just made Naruto complain about earlier and how Ino was wrong. Ino got mad, but quickly took the mature route since she knew that arguing would result in nothing. Instead she admitted her mistake, and for Naruto to just wait a bit longer. They did, and after ten silent minutes passed, Naruto started to doze off to sleep. Ino smacked his cheek lightly, so he wouldn't go to sleep.

It took another five minutes before their sensei finally came.

"Hey guys! Good mor-"

"YOU'RE LATE!" Ino and Naruto yelled!

"I seriously thought you had an excuse yesterday, but you're just irresponsible!" Ino roared.

"Right! What she said! You don't take us seriously do you!" Naruto's nose flared.

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, let's begin your survival training." The man had them step away from the wooden posts, so he could place a timer on one of them. He then explained to them that their goal was to take away two bells from him, and only two were most likely to not be returned back to the academy. Ino figured that Naruto would be the one to go. That prediction felt more true when he tried to attack their sensei before it began. Yet, the man was fast. Something Ino has witnessed with the many times her father trained her.

When it did begin, they scattered off to hide. Well, except for Naruto who was being an absolute moron. Ino most definitely could see Naruto being tied to a wooden post, and then going back to the academy with Iruka-sensei giving him the lecture of the lifetime. She inwardly sighed as she watched him horribly fail with his lame taijutsu techniques.

She then gasp when the man appeared behind Naruto and formed a hand seal. Ino quickly called out for him to run away before he was killed! However it was just a powerful ass poke that made Ino once again question whether her team will survive even with Sasuke on board. She knew that she was placed on this team to keep it together, but wasn't that the sensei's responsibility in the first place. Did they run out off jonins who could take care of kids, so they had to rely on her? She just hoped that Inoni and the rest were doing better than her.

Ino was suddenly snapped out of despair when she saw Naruto pull off a jutsu where there were multiple clones of him, and they didn't look like an illusion!

 _"What?!"_

He then pulled a clever trick to sneak up behind him, so he could get a good whack at him. However, the guy had switched himself with one of Naruto's clones without him seeing, and the idiot ended up beating himself up before realizing he could just release the jutsu to see the truth. Ino felt pity. She felt it more when he thought he found a bell left unwatched, but got caught by a rope that left him to be hung upside down.

 _"Seriously, Naruto. Did Iruka-sensei teach you nothing? How did you even graduate! Well, I guess that jutsu was pretty good. I never saw something like that before. It looks like Naruto does have a few tricks up his sleeve, and can be pretty clever. Too bad he's as dumb as Choji or that plan could've worked and he wouldn't have fallen for such an obvious trap. I would honestly want to have Choji on my team instead of you, and I don't want to lose Sasuke, but Shikamaru has the jutsu that could bind him down. The three of us would've worked together to get Kakashi trapped in Shikamaru's jutsu, and I would use my mind jutsu to possess him since Shikamaru has a time limit for how long he can hold onto someone. Then if any of us had to leave, I bet Shikamaru would be the first one on board. I don't want to lose my chance in being a ninja and neither does Naruto and Sasuke. So of course, we wouldn't be working together like I would with Choji and Shikamaru for those bells...Now that I think of it that way, I actually sound pretty selfish. But do I want to face the shame in returning to the academy despite how hard I worked? Of course not! But if I ever did learn something from the academy, it was that these sort of tests are supposed to simulate a real mission, right? This is survival training meaning that if the three of us were in the position where only the two of us can get those bells from the enemy to succeed and then the one who doesn't will...But ninjas are about sacrifice. Ugh! I don't want to lose! But I know what I have to do!"_

Just as Ino came upon a realization, Sasuke had launched his weapons at their sensei with the intention to kill. However, that one was also an illusion. Which meant that Sasuke's position was blown. Ino's heart panicked for him, but she quickly knew that she couldn't handle their sensei if even Sasuke couldn't face him. She thought quickly, and decided to head to Naruto first to set him free. There wasn't exactly a plan, but the three of them together could slightly even the odds to at least survive this round. Plus, she needed the three of them together to hopefully get a real plan in action.

She cautiously went over to him, and quietly called out to him. "Naruto!"

"Huh? Ino?"

"Shh! I'm gonna get you down from there." She threw her kunai in a way to help Naruto fall away from the trap.

"Ow!"

"Shhh! Do you want to get caught by sensei again?! C'mon!" She pulled him away to a hiding spot.

Kakashi saw this as something interesting, and decided to let those two play together while dealing with the Uchiha boy.

"Oi! What are you doing?!" Naruto questioned in a whisper.

"I'm trying to save both our butts!" Ino thought about getting Sasuke, but he must already be facing their sensei. Plus, there wasn't much time left. She considered her options. She could either still go look for Sasuke, and let time be up before any of them got a bell, or she could just work with Naruto, so the two of them got bells, and leave Sasuke to return to the academy. Ino remembered his promise to kill a man, and she couldn't entirely grasp that kind of goal, but she didn't want Sasuke to lose his chance to achieve vengeance. Then she cooked up a plan.

She looked to Naruto, "Hey, can you use the jutsu you used earlier to make a bunch of you because I'm going to need them."

"Huh? Why?! And why should I listen to you?!"

"Just listen!" She snapped. "There isn't much time, so just do as I say okay!" She roared viciously that Naruto shrunk back in fear.

"Okay! Okay! Geeze!"

"Good! Now, here's the plan."

After she told him, they searched for Sasuke, and they saw a huge ball of fire come to life. Ino felt her legs quiver in fear, but Sasuke was over there, and she had Naruto by her side, so she had to run that way! When she reached there, she saw Kakashi talking to Sasuke whose body was buried in the ground. She let that distract her for a second before she threw her weapons. The man dodged them, but he appeared real enough for Ino to attack.

She charged with all she got from the academy to get the man defenseless against the four Narutos that appeared in different directions. One of them jumped in front of him and wrapped his legs around his head to cover his eyes while the other slammed his hands against his ears, and the third one grabbed his legs. Ino kept his hands and the leg closest to the bells locked for the third Naruto to get one of the bells while Sasuke who was able to pull himself out also aimed to take one.

However, Ino was thrown at Sasuke, and the four Narutos burst into smoke after the jonin stabbed them with his kunai. A panting Ino was bewildered by this. "Wait, they were were all shadow clones?"

Kakashi answered, "It appears so, but I know where the real one is. Excuse me." He walked away to get the real Naruto.

Ino felt too shocked to be enraged by what Naruto did. The boy followed every direction he gave her, except that the real him had to stick with her. Perhaps, they were going to fail anyway, but this betrayal hit her pride.

"Ino, are you alright?" Sasuke questioned as the two got up.

The girl tiredly answered with a tone sounding like she wanted to whine, "Yeah. I just thought my plan would work, but looks like I'm just as clever as Naruto. That idiot! I told him to stick with me! And now where is he! I hope that after this, he's tied to one of those posts and left to starve!"

"Don't sell yourself short. You did pretty good out there."

"Yeah, well that good enough isn't going to make us genin." She went off to walk to the posts since it was going to be times up soon. "Think about how humiliating it will be when the heiress of the Yamanaka clan returns back to the academy while my sister and her team goes on to take on the chuunin exams. That's never happened before! Ugh! I should've just went to find you instead. Then maybe we could've come up with a reliable plan. I bet you were closer to getting those bells than us."

Sasuke didn't comment on that. He never even thought on working together.

The two reached the posts, and to no one's surprise, Naruto was tied to one of them. Ino gave him the stink eye as she took her place at one of his sides. Naruto just glared at the ground with a scowl. Sasuke just sat down at the other side.

Ino didn't know what their sensei would say about their failure, but he really took it too far when he seriously told them to quit as ninjas since they didn't deserve the position. Ino couldn't help agreeing with him for a second due to how bad she failed earlier, but she quickly reminded herself that she had the potential to be a good ninja. It's just that she still needed a bit more training to handle this kind of situation. She couldn't fail her clan!

Naruto was yelling, and he would've charged at the guy, but instead Sasuke took that charge. He was taken down easily with the man's foot on his head.

"Hey! Get your foot off his head, you jerk!" Ino demanded.

Their sensei ignored her, and instead questioned of why they were made into teams and the point of this training. He looked to Ino. "I believe only you truly knew the answer. No surprise considering you were raised in a clan that depends on it."

"Huh? What?! Ino knows?!" Naruto looked back to Ino and their sensei quickly.

"It's teamwork." The heiress answered, and explained why she knew. "The Yamanaka clan has a traditional alliance with the Nara and Akimichi clan, and it's expected of the first borns or anyone closely blood related to the successors of the clans to become a team, and perfect the traditional techniques that formed the alliance in the first place."

"I don't get it." Naruto didn't see the connection.

"To put it simple for idiots like you," She answered spitefully, "Kakashi-sensei wanted us to work as a team, so we can get the bells! Because in the real ninja world, a majority of our missions will be spent in a team."

"Exactly." Kakashi agreed.

Naruto caught on, but he noticed something wrong. "But hey! There's only two bells! What teamwork?! One of use were just going to be thrown under the bus anyway!"

"Of course! This test is purposely set up to make you fight among yourselves." Kakashi carried on the lesson. "The purpose is to see whether you can forget about your own interest and successfully work together under these circumstances. The only one who was willing to do that among you was Ino. Naruto! You were just running around by yourself. Sasuke! You just assumed the others would get in your way and tried to do everything by yourself. Ino's mistake was trusting in either of you to be there for her. If she had been with the team she was originally meant to be in, that wouldn't have been a mistake since they understand that the duties are done by the team. Of course, superior individual ability is important to a ninja. But what's even more important is "teamwork". Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades' or your own life in danger. For example," Kakashi held a kunai to Sasuke's throat. "Ino! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies!"

Ino was mildly shocked at the order, but it was just an example. Naruto however panicked since he thought he was serious.

"You see?" He finally got off the Uchiha. "If a hostage is taken, you will have tough choices and then die. You will be risking your lives in these duties." He then walked over to the stone monument where he explained that the names carved there were the names of heroes who had died under the line of duty. Ino was well aware of that since members of her clan were on that stone as well. Apparently, even their sensei's best friend's name was on it, too.

Then he told them that they had one more chance after lunch. Only Ino and Sasuke were allowed to eat since Naruto ditched Ino to eat the meals without them. Anyone who fed him would immediately fail. Ino had no problem letting Naruto starve after the stunt he pulled no matter how much he apologized.

But soon, Sasuke suddenly decided to give him some. "Here."

This shocked the blondes.

Ino cried out, "What?! But Sasuke, sensei just sa-"

"Don't worry." he told her, "I don't sense him near here. After lunch, we'll work together and get the bells."

"What are you talking about?! Can we really trust him?!" She turned her attention to Naruto, "How could you just ditch me to get food!"

"Hey! I left you some clones like you said didn't I!" He defended himself.

But Ino quickly broke down that armor, "The point of you giving me those clones was so we could undermine our sensei! We were supposed to work as a team! I trusted you to have my back, but the only thing you cared about was filling your belly! If this was real instead of a simulation, I bet you would've just left me for dead at the hands of the enemy!" She pointed at him, "I knew you were a scoundrel, Naruto, but I didn't think you'd be the type to abandon the people who needed you!"

"You would've just gotten those bells for yourself! You were just using me, making me think that I would be the one to get the bell, but you were just going to backstab me and get it for yourself!"

PUNCH!

Ino punched Naruto hard enough for him to have cut his lip. "If that's the kind of person you think I am, then maybe the adults were wrong in putting me in this stupid team!"

"They weren't." Sasuke spoke up, and told Naruto, "I saw it for myself. If you had actually been there Naruto, you would've seen that Ino actually sacrificed herself so the two of us could get the bells. I was too far to reach, and she saw how bad your taijutsu was earlier, so she knew that you wouldn't have been able to hold down Kakashi. Maybe if you were more capable of it, she would've used you."

"So be glad you're terrible!" Ino yelled at the blond. "And I bet after lunch, you'll still mess up like the goofball you are, and I don't want Sasuke to lose his chance in being ninja. I don't want to either, but one of us has to go, and that person is the one who can distract sensei. My parents will cry, but I hate it more if we don't at least try to take down that stupid sensei of ours and show him who's boss!" She really didn't want to lose, but she knew none of these boys would willingly be the sacrifice. So she figured that they could at least stick it to the man before she's dragged down. "So you better not stab my back a second time, or I'll stab these chopsticks into where you wouldn't want them to be! Hear me!"

"Ah! Yes ma'am!" Naruto answered. _"Man, she's scary!"_

"Okay, so let's make up a plan while we eat. Any ideas Sasuke since mine didn't go so well." She looked to the genius.

But Naruto reminded them, "Hey wait, I'm tied up, so I can't use my hands to eat."

Ino felt annoyed, but it couldn't be help. "Fine. Here."

"Thanks!" Naruto opened his mouth to accept the tasty rice, but before he could eat it, their sensei arrived, and passed them.

"HUH?"

"Pass?" Ino arched an eyebrow.

Then Kakashi went on to tell them that they were the first students that he ever passed since the students before them just did as he said.

"A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are called trash, but you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than trash."

That sounded pretty cool, but Ino was just relieved that she didn't have to return to the academy.

And thus, that was the end of the survival training and the beginning of her adventure as a genin with Naruto and Sasuke.

._._._.

A/N: This is what I believe would've gone down if Ino was part of the Team 7. Unlike Sakura who has no formal training or clan customs, Ino was raised by them, so she was formally trained and taught the importance of teamwork. I also believe she was actually low key hated by many of the females in her class, which became more evident after being teamed up with Sasuke. Plus, I believe she isn't as crazy over Sasuke as Sakura is. She does think he's a catch, but nothing to truly obsess over like Sakura does. She's actually more interested in making the team work because Sasuke and Naruto aren't friends like Shikamaru and Choji, and Kakashi appears very unreliable. As the heiress of the Yamanaka clan, she has to prove she is worth the position while also living her life as a girl.

I hope Inoni came off as a good OC for you. She's basically the boyish version of Ino where she's rough and has a looser mouth than Ino that she's commonly mistaken to be a boy until they see her chest.

*I made it four, so Sakura could still be in the story.


	2. Chapter 2

The day after the survival training, the new team 7 were to start their duties as one of the four new genin teams. Inoni with Shikamaru and Chouji had also passed their survival training easily since they just had to team up and try to use their jutsus against him successfully. With Shikamaru's lazy smarts and Inoni pushing them, they were able to do it. Another team that passed was Kiba's team with Hinata and Shino. Inoni was close friends with Kiba, so she knew about how they succeeded a hunting survival training exercise.

Ino wondered who was the fourth, but she had other manners to attend to such as making her new team work.

"Good luck!" Inoni told her as they were about to separate. They were both going to be at the hokage's office at different appointment times, and knowing the lazy bums, team 10 was definitely later. Before her twin left, she deviously grinned as she said, "You're gonna need it."

"Oh just leave!" Ino waved off her needless warning, and went off to the hokage's office. She was pleasantly surprised to see that both Sasuke and Naruto were present. "Hey guys!" She ran up to them excitedly, and she couldn't help flirtatiously greeting, "Hey Sasuke! It's our first day as genin! Excited?"

"We won't be genin for long." He determined.

Ino couldn't help squealing inside by how cool he was! Then she noticed Naruto who was looking nervous as if he needed to say something. "Hey, Naruto! What's up? Don't tell me you're nervous."

He flinched by those words. "No I'm not! I'm excited! I'm super excited! Just watch me! I'll blow you all away that you'll be eating my dust for days! Just you watch! I'm gonna be hokage! Believe it!"

Ino didn't think much on that, and saw that Naruto was still nervous. She decided to just let him be since he wasn't going to open up to her of all people anyway. She still didn't know why he didn't like her.

"Hey Naruto." She called out to him.

"Hm?"

"I get why you don't like Sasuke, but why don't you like me? I mean you don't have to like me, but I don't think I did anything to you personally to make you dislike me. What's up with that? Or was it Inoni who did something to you, and you thought it was me? We kinda look alike, but Inoni has terrible acting skills. I doubt you're that dumb enough to mistake the two of us."

"How I feel about you has nothing to do with your animal of a sister! It's just..." Naruto looked away with a guilty expression.

Then it clicked with Ino. "Ooh! Don't tell me that you're actually guilty about what you did yesterday. Leaving me all alone with your clones to fight off sensei while you traipsed all the way to eat food without us." She couldn't help saying teasingly, but changed her attitude at the childish guilty expression that the boy pulled off. "Just so you know, I'm over it. I get it that you and Sasuke don't have the team training that I received since I was a kid. But that's why I'm here! So Naruto, if you need any advice or help, you can come to me!" She then flirtatiously smiled over at Sasuke, "I bet you don't have to ask me anything, Sasuke, since you're a genius after all! But if you want to ask me out on a date, I'm free after this!"

Sasuke ignored her, which made Ino believe he was just being shy. Oh, she knew she had it bad.

The appointment was going to start soon. However, their sensei was nowhere to be seen. Ino figured this would happen, but she was still heavily disappointed. She really needed to lecture that man!

However, just at the last minute, the man arrived just in time. It seems that if the hokage is involved, then the weirdo was willing to make it in time. And thus, they were given their first mission of making some deliveries, then they were to babysit some kids for a few hours, search for some lost items, and walk some dogs.

It was a hectic day since Naruto apparently loved to try to show off by trying to deliver everything quickly, but that only led to giving the mail to the wrong persons, entering a war with thee children, breaking the lost item, and then unsuccessfully trying to walk the largest, laziest dog, only to get squashed under it.

These tasks were menial for Ino who did chores, but Naruto made them even more troublesome.

After reporting to the hokage that their tasks were done, they were dismissed. Their sensei left them, and Ino became concerned with the lack of actual training from the man, but she supposed taking baby steps were the way to go. It was still the middle of the afternoon, which still left time to do. She was tired, and just wanted to relax, but she did set a goal for herself to help Naruto reach up to her and Sasuke, so they could pass the chuunin exams since their sensei seem to be not that interested.

But before she could invite her teammates for some training, an surprising and unwanted voice squealed, "Sasuke! Hey!" Sakura ran up to them.

Sasuke just ignored her, but to Ino's surprise, Naruto's face lit up and his cheeks went flushed at the sight of the pink haired intruder. "Oh, hey, Sakura! What brings you here?"

Sakura looked faintly disappointed at being greeted by Naruto instead. But she kept her smile to appear cute, "Oh, I just finished my duties as a new genin today! I figured I'd see you guys here!"

At the word 'genin', Ino was astounded. "You passed?"

Sakura grinned towards Ino's way, "Of course! I was the one who passed with the highest score in the written exam! Passing the survival training was a breeze for beautiful intellectual like myself!"

A part of Ino was proud, but a part of her believed that the major reason must be her teammates since Ino recognized them to be pretty good back at the academy.

"Wow! That's amazing, Sakura! So that means we're both genin!" Naruto couldn't be any happier. Ino couldn't help feeling sorry for that hopeless boy since Sakura obviously only had eyes for Sasuke.

"Yeah," Sakura was intently looking toward Sasuke's way.

Ino felt annoyed by that, so she decided to be the sneaky bitch she was. She slyly snaked her arms around Sasuke's own, and flirtatiously said, "Genin, you say! Well then that means you should be serious about training with your team like we are! We were about to go train, weren't we, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at her, and he could tell that Ino was just trying to make Sakura jealous, but he played along since training was next on his schedule. "Sure."

Sakura was enraged by this form of affection.

Ino went on to ring in a confused Naruto's arm as she announced, "So we're gonna go now! Bye!" She pulled the boys away, and gave a triumphant grin back at Sakura who was definitely burning hot inside.

When they got out of sight, she let them go.

Naruto was just weird out, but he got the definite feeling that Sakura wasn't pleased, so he wasn't either. "Hey! What was that about? Are we actually training?!"

Ino answered, "I'm honestly worn out from watching you today, but since it looks like our sensei isn't serious about training us, we have to make our own team training schedule. We should at least do this once every two days with day offs being an exception since I'd like to have a break from seeing you." That comment made the whisker faced boy growl, but the Yamanaka carried on speaking, "This way we can incorporate my Yamanaka skills with your guys' own. Today, we're going to show each other what our strengths and weaknesses are. Not that I think you have any weaknesses, Sasuke." She complimented the boy who just ignored her again. "So let's go!"

"What? But I'm starving! Can't we at least have lunch first!"

"Good point." Ino completely forgot about lunch since she was on a diet. "Any good places in mind?"

"Ooh! Ooh! Ichiraku's!"

"That place?" Ino looked at him unimpressed.

"What?" The boy crossed his arms, feeling insulted that Ino referred to it as some disappointing place. "What's better than Ichiraku's?"

"I can name plenty, but I guess it is both delicious and cheap. It wouldn't hurt to just have one bowl. Want to eat ramen, Sasuke?"

The boy just shrugged. Naruto gave him the stink eye, and told him in a shoo away tone, "You don't have to come."

Ino scolded him, "Don't talk to Sasuke that way! We're going to train after this, so we're eating together! Got that!"

Naruto was really getting annoyed with this girl. He just childishly whipped his head away, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and walked off towards the ramen shop. Ino sighed and followed with Sasuke walking beside her. The three of them ate ramen for lunch before heading to the training grounds.

There, Ino figured they should start with displaying their techniques. "Naruto, you don't belong to a clan with a special jutsu as far as I'm aware, and you also graduated dead last."

"Do you have to really say it!" Naruto yelled at her.

"I'm saying it, so you would take this training, and no goofing off like you did back at the academy! We're depending on you to be there for us during a mission, so start showing us some loyalty." Ino clarified to him without noticing Naruto's dejected expression.

This didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke. Though her words were true, it wouldn't do good for the team if she ran her mouth and made Naruto feel bad. "Hey Ino, can I talk with you in private for a second?"

"Hm? Okay?" She followed him after ordering Naruto to not go anywhere. "So what is it?"

The Uchiha answered, "I just wanted to let you know that what you said to Naruto was true, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but you have to cut him some slack. Despite how he looks and how he acts, he is trying in his own way. But even a confident guy like him can be cut down, so if you really want this team to work, it's best that you watch what you say."

Ino was surprised by the scolding she received by her crush, but she also felt glad to hear it despite how it hurt her pride a bit. Sasuke was in the right place. "Oh, I'm doing it again aren't I. Everyone always tell me that I have a loose tongue, so I end up hurting people even though I only meant well. I guess I am being a bit too harsh on Naruto. I guess should apologize. But I'm really surprised that you noticed, Sasuke. I always thought you were really aloof to others, but you actually do watch over your teammates. I think I fell for you even more!" She blushed lightly from her confession.

"Whatever. Let's go back to see if the idiot didn't run off scared."

"Naruto running off scared?" Ino giggled, "Knowing what I know of him, he'd run into trouble."

"Hn." Sasuke held back a chuckle, and Ino got a glimpse of his smile. She felt her face become bright pink at the sight of the smile. She guessed Naruto's idiocy was quite funny.

They soon reached back to the spot, and saw that Naruto was still sitting where he was earlier. Ino caught a glimpse of a sad expression, and guilt overtook her. Knowing that apologizing right now would seem superficial, she decided to just move on with the lesson. "We're back!" She let him know first.

"Huh?" Naruto snapped out of his thoughts, and reverted back to his hot-blooded self. "Hey, what did you guys have to go talk all secretly about?"

"It was grownup talk. Something you'll understand once you stop being such a trickster." She teased him, yet she added, "But I guess it isn't so bad that you act like a child because you won't be as deviously clever as you are now anymore."

Naruto noticed the compliment, and as someone weak to compliments, he blushed a bit, and gloated about how clever he was. It looked like he was cheered up thankfully.

Ino then started the training, "Okay, I guess we can start now. Well first off, we're a team that don't really know each other, so we have to figure out our strengths and weaknesses to make up for it." She went on to inform Naruto about her how her clan specializes in jutsus that involve the mind. A beginner in the Yamanaka clan would first learn to sense other people's chakra to have a better lock on them. Ino was able to sense people at least in a five mile radius for now. She was also able to telepathically communicate with the people within the five mile radius. Although with her twin sister, she can sense and talk to Inoni anywhere.

Sasuke commented that those two talents would prove useful during a mission when searching for a target and if their communication devices don't work. He asked for Ino to demonstrate her abilities, and she was able to accurately tell where certain squirrels, bugs, and even plants were. She relayed this information to them telepathically, which really weird Naruto out. Although she also informed them that doing telepathic communication while moving rapidly is still difficult for her since she hadn't mastered that level of focus and control.

She then went on to show them her clan's mind transfer jutsu, and demonstrated it by having Naruto catch a squirrel, and hold it in place. She did it successfully much to the boys' amazement.

"There's other jutsus where I can disrupt a person's movement and make them turn on their teammates without having to possess them." She let them know.

Naruto was starry eyed by it. "Whoa! Noway! Your clan's techniques are so cool! I want to do that!"

"You could if you were in my clan, but you aren't." She gloated, and the boy groaned at the fact. "Okay. So that's all the special jutsus that I can actually do so far. It's your turn Sasuke."

"Alright. I guess I could tell you a thing or two about the Uchiha clan's abilities. Let's start with what made the Uchiha clan the most feared and powerful in Konoha. Do any of you know about the sharingan?" He questioned.

Naruto didn't have a clue, but Ino did, "Oh yeah, my dad told me about it since he used to work along side your clan when they ran their police force."

"Police force?" Naruto questioned.

"You honestly don't know? Five years ago, Konoha had a police force that handled the crime here, and they were mostly run by the Uchiha clan. The reason they were was because of their sharingan, which is a form of doujutsu. You know what doujutsu and kekkei genkai is right?"

"Uhm, sure?"

Ino sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, here's the short lesson. First off, my clan specialize in jutsus that can be learned by anyone if they were taught. However, there are other clans that have kekkei genkai. They are basically special abilities that is only passed through a specific clan by blood, and in some clans, those special abilities are used through their eyes, which is otherwise known as doujutsu. In Sasuke's case, he is able to have the sharingan."

"And what's that?"

Sasuke explained, "The sharingan gives the user the ability to read their opponent's movements and copy them. However, they cannot copy all of their movements like how I can't copy Ino's mind transfer jutsu."

"Oh...That sounds lame."

"It's not lame!" Ino punched his noggin. "Of course you wouldn't understand how great an ability like that is because you don't bother to learn anything except be a pervert!"

"Hey! I learn! I just don't see what's so impressive about copying people."

Sasuke smirked, "Then let me show you. Ino, help me demonstrate to this idiot the power of the Uchiha."

"Who'dya think you're calling an idiot, bastard! How about you use that sharingan to copy how to be a decent person!"

"Quiet, Naruto!" Ino ordered, which he reluctantly followed.

The boy watched as the first and second top graduate students face each other. The first thing they did was the do was hold up their two fingers to symbolize that they were going to fight, but there would be no death. Naruto remembered that he had to do such a thing, but that never exactly went well for him.

Sasuke ordered for Ino to not hold back or he won't be able to show his sharingan. The number one graduate nodded. They paused for five seconds before charging at each other like they would back at the academy. Naruto's eyes widen when he saw how fast and skilled they moved. He could see that Sasuke's moves were quick and full of force. He looked like he was bound to one-up her, but Ino's own style was graceful. The kunoichi was careful and cautious of Sasuke's movements since he was better at taijutsu. Ino felt fear, but she knew that she had to overlook that, and focus on the goal like a real ninja would.

Sasuke saw Ino's strength in going on the defensive more than the offensive. When he saw a clever move to dodge his attack, and go for the offensive, he thought this moment wasn't that special, but it was enough to give him a reason to activate the sharingan. Ino saw it, and quickly moved back.

Naruto was surprised by the red appearance with the strange commas added to it.

Sasuke commented, "It looks like there was a reason that you came second to me when it came to taijutsu."

Ino smirked. "It's only expected of the queen of the academy. But we aren't in the academy anymore, are we, Sasuke." Her voice became deceptively flirtatiously. "Here, it's not the adults who are going to determine who comes out on top. Just don't hurt me too bad, alright Sasuke-kun." She winked.

Naruto got the shivers. Sasuke just smirked back, and the two engaged. The whiskered boy was caught off guard by the level of intensity that added now that Ino was not holding back. The girl appeared to be very capable of handling kunais and was able to use the illusion trick that Kakashi pulled on Naruto more times than he liked. Sasuke appeared to be equipped with even more skills up his sleeve, but was obviously holding back just to demonstrate to Naruto of his ability.

And at just the right time, Sasuke copied a very distinct move from Ino to dodge her attack, and then used it to initiate his own. Ino was knocked down onto the ground, and that was the signal for the fighting to stop. Both her and Sasuke were out of breath while Naruto just stared at this dumbfounded.

Ino got up and appeared to be fine. A little bruised, but that was good health by ninja standards. The two ninjas faced each other and sealed their two fingers together. The girl then looked over to Naruto, "Did you see it, Naruto? What we've shown you is not even scratching the surface of the power of the sharingan."

Naruto quickly snapped out of his amazement to turn back into his snotty self. "Hmph. I still don't think it's anything to brag about."

Ino sighed at his stubborn attitude. "Well, whether its great or not doesn't really matter since you'll be working with Sasuke's sharingan and my clan's abilities, and your special shadow clone jutsu."

"My shadow clone jutsu?" Naruto didn't see how that was special.

Ino explained, "Well, you may not belong to a clan or have a kekkei genkai, but your shadow clone jutsu is very useful. Maybe with you, I'll be able to use my mind transfer jutsu if you can make a bunch of you appear and hold down our target. And you're sneaky enough to do it, too. But you need to learn how to actually capture the real enemy and not be tricked the same way Kakashi-sensei did yesterday."

Naruto was feeling pretty proud of himself by all of Ino's compliments, but then he groaned when he remembered how he embarrassed himself yesterday.

"So Naruto, we showed you our special abilities, how about you whip up some clones and Sasuke and I will fight them!" Ino punched her palm to show that she was still ready for combat.

"Eh? Seriously?"

"Yeah. You suck at taijutsu, and Sasuke and I trained ourselves to take on multiple opponents. Since your clones have the same brain as you, you can watch your clones go against us, and then try a one-on-one fight." Ino figured.

But Naruto was annoyed by how much she looked down on his own taijutsu skills. "Hey! I don't suck at anything! I'll show you that I don't need some stickin' clones to go against the likes of you two! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to be hokage someday! Believe it!" Sasuke huffed out a laughter he restrained, but the blonde heard it, "Oi! What are you laughing about bastard! You wanna go!"

"Heh. I bet I can beat ten of you at once."

Naruto growled like an animal before cooking up nine clones so the ten could charge at him. Ino yelled at him to stop, but seeing as this could be some form of training, she just let the boys have their fun. While she watched them battle it out against each other, she couldn't help admiring how cool Sasuke looked and also pitying at how Naruto looked losing. But she had to admit that they both seemed to be having fun with each other.

Unknown to her as she was watching, Kakashi was watching, too from a tree branch while reading his Icha Icha paradise. And Sakura was watching as well from behind a tree.

When it was becoming sun down, both Sasuke and Naruto were drained of energy from all the fighting they were doing. Ino approached them with drinks and food to help them replenish. They didn't notice at all when she left to get these.

"Boy, you guys sure know how to duke it out. I don't remember watching something this passionate since Inoni trained with my dad." She let them know. She also appeared to have a medical kit with her, and knelled down to inspect Sasuke to see some minor cuts and bruises which she helped patched up. She then looked over Naruto who needed it even more by how beaten up he looked. But it appeared to be no cuts and the bruises and burns look like they were shrinking away. She thought it was weird, but it wasn't unnatural for some ninjas to heal faster than others.

She helped patched him up, and as she did, she told him, "You're a moron to go up against a genius like Sasuke, but you do have guts, I'll give you that."

"Hmph! Don't patronize me." He grumbled.

"I'm not patronizing you." Ino let him know, "You are an idiot through and through, but you do have determination. I'll give you that. I think I can rely on you a little more when we're on more serious missions together." At those words, Naruto appeared to look dispirited, which Sasuke noticed. Ino was more focus on patching him up.

After that, the three separated.

._._._.

The next day after going through genin ranked missions throughout the village, Ino was called out by one of Sakura's teammates to go meet with her.

Ino had a feeling she knew what this was about, but she went anyway to the field where they once hung out together as kids.

Sakura appeared determined, and Ino faced her the same way.

"Ino..." She started. "I know that you're the one of Sasuke's team, but I have no plans on losing to you. I won't lose to you, Ino."

"Same here, Sakura. I won't lose to you no matter what." Ino made that promise, despite knowing the fact that she had a reason to not win.

Sakura then held out a ribbon that Ino remembered being the one she gave to her, but her ex-best friend told her that she was returning it. Ino told her that it was something that she was supposed to use, and that her forehead protect was supposed to be put on her forehead. Though that's a lot saying from her who uses it as a belt. Yet, Sakura gave her reason that she her forehead protector and her giving back the ribbon was a symbol of no longer being in Ino's shadow, and that she now stood as kunoichi who will surpass her.

A part of Ino was hurt by how much Sakura was willing to throw away their friendship, but she understood that these sort of things happen for the sake of growing up and being a ninja. It came with sacrifice, and despite how much resentment Ino held against her former best friend, she still cared deeply for her. She wanted Sakura to blossom, and if this is what she had to do, then she would do it for her sake.

"Good idea, then." She said as she held the hand that held the ribbon. "Until that time..." She took the ribbon in her hand, and then walked away since nothing else had to be said.

._._._.

It was a day off, but Ino was stuck watching over the flower shop while her mother took the chance to go off and do what she wanted. Surprisingly, her twin who also had the day off, stuck around to chat since it was a slow day. Shikamaru and Choji were also present.

"So things been good?" Inoni questioned. She took a sip of her drink.

Ino sighed, "It's tiresome. But yeah. We're actually making great progress. Naruto is a brat, and Sasuke surprisingly likes playing around with him."

"What? Seriously?" Shikamaru was surprised to hear that about the how-dare-you-talk-to-me emo prince.

"Yeah. Those two get along surprisingly well like Inoni and Kiba, but Sasuke still keeps his cool. He's really a nice guy once you get to know him."

"Sounds like too much of a drag." The lazy deer spoke lazily like usual, but there seemed to be a hint of distaste of getting to know the guy.

"At least it sounds like you're doing great, Ino." Choji commented as he munched his chips. "How has your training with your clan's abilities doing? Inoni is surprisingly doing well."

"WHAT WAS THAT FATSO?!"

"WHO YOU CALLING A FATSO, DIKE!"

The two slammed their foreheads against each other, growling for a match, but it was all just playful, and they wouldn't do anything to hurt the shop.

"What a drag." Shikamaru groaned. He then faced Ino to repeat Choji's question, "So how has your training been going?"

"I actually haven't gone around to doing it much. I've only been training in using my sensory skills. Naruto doesn't like it when I link our minds, but he has to just suck it up. And I think my range in sensing chakra have been improving since sensei likes to waste my time, and the boys play too much. We only started being genin, and I have to focus on getting Naruto to catch up, so we can make better team strategies."

"Don't you think you're working too hard? Where's your sensei in all this. Inoni told me that you were even preparing lessons for dead last."

"It can't be helped. Kakashi-sensei just wants us to do the mission, and when it's over, he's gone just like that. I told him about our extra training lessons, but he says that he thinks we have the handle on things by ourselves."

"Geeze, he sounds way worse than Asuma-sensei."

"I know right! And that's not even the least of my problems. Na-Huh? Naruto? Sasuke?" Ino was surprised to see Sasuke push in a nervous Naruto into the shop.

Sasuke explained, "I found this guy loitering around the shop looking suspicious, so I bought him inside."

"I wasn't!"

Ino found that confusing. "Eh? Naruto, you know you're allowed in here unless you're here to start trouble. You're not, are you?"

"No! Of course not! It's just..." The boy looked down, feeling embarrassed for a second before brashly yelling, "I just need to talk to you in private, okay!"

"Don't tell me it's a love confession!" Inoni cried out in an over dramatic disturbed way.

"No, it isn't, you dike!"

"Good because my sister can do better than Mr. Rejected McWhiskers here."

"You wanna fight! I'll-OW!"

"No fights in the shop!" Ino pinched Naruto's ear and pulled him out of the shop to the back of the house. She had her chakra sensing on, so Inoni or anyone else wouldn't be able to hear a thing if they came closer. And the others knew that. "So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Well..." Naruto fidgeted a bit which only weird out the pre-teen girl.

"Well? Out with it!"

"I'm sorry about what happened the other day!" Naruto finally said it, and it looked like it took a lot of energy by how he gasped for air.

"The other day? Oh, you mean the survival training? I already said that it was okay."

"I know that! It's just-It's just that I never actually got around to apologizing for that. Look, I don't want to be the type of guy who leave his comrades behind. I just did what I did because I was an idiot who thought that you were like everyone else who just looked down on me."

"Well to be fair, I do look down on you, Naruto." Ino confessed. "So I get why you wouldn't have trusted me, especially when our status as ninjas were threatened. Look, just wait here. I'll be right back!" The girl went off to get something. It just took a minute before she was back with a morning glory flower in hand. "Here. You should know that my favorite phrase is 'The many meanings of flowers', and this one represents willful promises as in I promise to keep my promises to try to be a better teammate and friend from now on. And I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Naruto. I know I talk too much, and I act hard on you, but that's only because I care. I know you can do this, Naruto. I just need you to be willing to do it."

"I am!" The boy declared as he placed his hand by Ino's to take the flower.

The girl smiled at the answer, "Good. Now, let's get back. I'll hand you some instructions to help keep that flower in good condition."

Naruto nodded, and the two returned back to see that team 10 was telling Sasuke something that peaked his interest.

"What're you guys talking about?" Ino inquired.

Inoni answered, "We're telling your future not-husband on how to strategize with our clan's jutsus."

Shikamaru explained, "It's to lighten the load on you. But this is such a drag. Hey Naruto, you better listen up because I'm not repeating myself twice."

Inoni snorted, "Don't bother. The only way this guy gonna learn is if we beat it into him."

"A dike like you would know, huh!"

"Got something to say, dead last!"

"Yeah, I got something to say with my fists, you boar!"

The two looked ready to make a mess, and Ino got in between them, and scolded their ears out.

Shikamaru muttered, "We have some troublesome people."

Sasuke silently agreed. He owned two of them.

Choji just munched away.


	3. Chapter 3

Over a month passed since, and Ino swore that she was about to be on her last nerve with this team. No matter how many times she scolded their sensei about being late, he kept saying crap like being lost on the way of life or whatever, and just smoothly moving things along at his own pace with his own idea of how he wanted to teach them teamwork. Ino already told him about their extra training that he could take a part in, but their sensei apparently had better things to do, and figured that she had everything under control. She did, but that still didn't excuse him for his lack of cooperation which made him a ludicrous sensei to have.

She complained about this to her own father multiple times, but this sort of thing was out of his hands, and the hokage's choice was final unless the genins broke up. She knew she was fighting a losing battle, but she wasn't one to halfass anything.

The sensei wasn't the only problem unfortunately. After every frickin' mission, Sakura would appear, and Ino gets it, but damn, that girl just kept coming and coming as if she is just lurking around the corner just to see Sasuke. Ino swore she was about to tear off one of Sasuke's limbs by how clinging she'll act just to get on her nerves. Sasuke even asked her afterwards to go easy on him, and she apologized, but couldn't keep that promise as long as that pink haired stalker was roaming around trying to get a point in.

But she guessed she could look into the bright side of things. Their sensei being late gave Ino time to teach Naruto the basic things that Iruka-sensei should've drilled into his brain already. He appeared to be a hands-on learner, so Ino tried her best to incorporate her lessons with movement and visuals with Sasuke's help of course.

Ino also looked at the bright side of Sakura's visits as a pick-me up for Naruto who really beamed at the sight of her. He looked like he was aware of her crush for Sasuke, which only fueled him more to fight with the guy during their training sessions.

As the days went by during that month, Ino learned a lot of good things about Naruto. He was a brat through and through, but he was also very passionate and determined to do anything. His energy both tired her out, but it also inspired her to work more towards her goals. If an idiot like him can still dream despite the lack of faith from those around him, she, who was already motivated, felt even more so.

However, she soon learned about how he basically just lives off on ramen, hates eating vegetables, bathes a lot at the onsen suspiciously She was also told a lot of his pranking stories, and how he created his sexy jutsu in the first place. The first time Naruto showed it off to her, Ino was completely disinterested and disappointed in him as a decent human being.

She was not surprised that Sasuke made no reaction at all at the sight of a naked woman. He was cool like usual, but Ino also got to witness his own childish side when he would engage with Naruto's bickering. She would catch on how he couldn't help pulling a boyish smirk when he won, or when the three of them would wear each other out after a good fight. He truly was like any other rowdy boy at heart if one was to inspect closer. She also notice the times when he could act a little less cool, but still appear charming when it came to talking about random, weird things that Ino and Naruto found themselves talking and debating about. Ino couldn't forget how he tried not to blush when they were discussing about where babies came from. Ino knew full well of the subject while Naruto didn't, and Sasuke embarrassingly knew just the basic stuff.

She happily also noticed of how he was very observant and aware of how his teammates felt to a certain extent. He would act as a middle man when it was Naruto and Ino bickering. These little things she noticed just made him appear more charming and wholesome as a person. She couldn't help falling deeper for him despite knowing full well that they couldn't be.

Despite how mundane the genin missions were, she really looked forward to the next day.

But soon enough, Naruto really was a piece of work to deal with, and he was the one who finally made Ino lose her last nerve when they were in the middle of picking weeds, and she quickly caught him about to screw up! Ino kicked him hard enough to roll across the ground and hit a tree.

She screeched at him, "What the hell did you think you were about to do you idiot! You were about to pull out the herbs from the ground!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Hey, what do you think you're doing?! I was just pulling out some weeds!"

"Pulling weeds, my foot! Do you even know what a weed looks like!" She marched over to him and pulled his ear towards the garden. She then began teaching him, "Here. Do you know what kind of garden this is?"

"Hm?" Naruto cocked his head in confusion. He just saw a bunch of grass.

Ino sighed. "Look." She began pointing at each plant. "Here is a medical herb. This herb is usually used to make medical pills or the basic stuff like soup to help treat someone who is sick. You can tell that it's the herb by it's shape and texture. Here, touch it. Don't pull." Naruto followed along since it seemed interesting. Ino went on to tell him what a weed was, how it looked like, and it's texture. Also the correct way to pull out a weed, so it didn't spread.

"Oh! I see." Naruto began to effectively and efficiently do his job.

"Good work! Keep that up, and you might be hokage someday." She half teased and encouraged.

Naruto chuckled proudly to himself, "Just you watch! I'll pull all these weeds out, that these herbs are gonna grow the best!"

"Yeah, you do that." Ino went to her own spot to clear the weeds.

Sasuke and Kakashi simply watched the lesson before returning back to what they were doing.

After the tiresome missions, Ino let herself feel exhausted, "Man! We're finally done with today! I'm going to go to the onsen to relax. Do any of you guys also want to go, too?" Today wasn't a team training day for them.

"Totally!" Naruto was on board. "Ooh! Can we go get Ichiraku's afterwards?"

"Only if you don't try to peek into the women's bath." Ino half agreed, half warned.

"If you're going to be in there, then there's no way I want to peek." Naruto shivered at the idea.

That caught Ino off guard, and quite frankly insulted, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Hey! I'm just saying that it would be like peeking at my sister bathing! Yuck!"

"If I'm your sister, then you're my little brother! And if I even see a little strand of blonde hair near the women's bathing area, I'm gonna hurl you to the next village! You hear me!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Naruto childishly looked down with a grimace because it was a nice day to go peeking.

Ino then looked over to Sasuke, "What about you, Sasuke? Wanna go to the onsen? It'll be good for your body."

But Naruto complained, "Ew, I don't wanna go with him."

"Well, too bad! It would actually make me feel better if he came, so he can keep a watch on you."

Kakashi then spoke up, "Well, you know, I'm still here."

Ino looked at him disinterestedly, "Oh, you were?" She deadpanned as if what he said had no relevance to what they were talking about. That was an obvious sign that he was hated tremendously to the point that Ino became apathetic. It kinda depressed the sensei a bit by her coldness. It even hurt more when his three students were walking away to the onsen without him involved in their conversation at all.

But he had to admit, they did appear to get along quite well despite how noisy they are.

He did follow them to the onsen in the end, but still kept his mask on despite the hot temperatures that should've made it unbearable to keep it on. Naruto remained on his best behavior since he really couldn't stand the idea of peeking on Ino.

"You really do consider her like a sister, huh, Naruto." Kakashi commented.

"Huh? Oh, I guess I do. I mean, she's loud all the time and thinks she's the boss of everyone. But she really cares y'know. I don't know what else to call her but a really annoying sister, y'know." Naruto figured.

"Hm. And you Sasuke?" He looked to the other.

The cool boy answered, "She's a valuable teammate. She's very knowledgeable as a kunoichi, and has been able to even make the likes of me and Naruto work together to achieve our objective."

Naruto couldn't help mocking him by poorly mimicking his disinterested expression and flat tone, "'to even make the likes of me and Naruto work together to achieve our objective'. That's how you sound like!"

Sasuke just faced away from him much to Naruto's annoyance. Pay attention to him, dammit!

Kakashi considered their words, "I see. Then maybe I will join you three in your after mission training."

"Really?!" Naruto was excited by this. "Then just you wait, Kakashi-sensei! You're going to see how much I approved, and wipe the floor with this guy!" He pointed at Sasuke, who huffed.

"For the first time?"

Naruto felt a blood vessel nearly burst. "WHAT'DYA MEAN FIRST TIME, YOU BASTARD! YOU WANNA GO NOW?! I'VE ONLY BEEN GOING EASY ON YOU FROM THE START!"

"Then you must've been starting from level 0 or lower."

"RAAAAAH!"

Kakashi held Naruto back and scolded them both for trying to start a fight. Ino, who heard only Naruto's voice, became secretly embarrassed as the girls around her started to whisper among themselves about a fight possibly going on between naked men.

._._._.

Kakashi did as he said to join them in their next training session. First, he followed them to a yakiniku restaurant since Ino wanted variety in her meals. Naruto was cool with that since Ichiraku's may be his favorite place in the world, but he still had room to eat other kinds of food.

Their sensei watched in surprise at how Ino talked to Naruto about politics while forcing vegetables on his plate. As someone who was to run a shop, following up on politics was essential since a simple ruling or a comment made could define how to strategize for the business, so it can remain profitable. Naruto, who wanted to be hokage, had to have these types of conversations. He could tell that Ino didn't entirely believe that Naruto could ever become the hokage, but she wasn't one to not show her support for her fellow teammate.

Naruto was surprisingly trying to understand what she was talking and trying to be involved in the conversation as much as he can. He really was more invested in the conversation when people's emotions and livelihoods were put on the line or sacrificed.

Sasuke would also become involved in the conversation to help Naruto understand or add to what Ino was saying. Yet, when Ino and Sasuke realized that they had opposite views about something, they would go full on debate about why certain things were right or wrong. Naruto listened and tried to catch up to what they were saying. Sometimes he would try to act like he understood by crossing his arms with a serious face and nod whenever it felt appropriate to do so.

It took a moment for Kakashi to remember that these were twelve-year-olds. He was very young when he rose up the ranks of a ninja, and was a genius himself, but he kept most of his thoughts and debates to himself. It was odd to see a group of children deciding whether allowing anbu to search a person's home without the person's knowledge should continue to be allowed.

While this went on, Kakashi had noticed from the beginning that when Ino only took a few pieces of meat without much attention, Sasuke and Naruto would secretly slip a piece of meat on her dish. Ino was too focused on talking than to realize this happening.

When Ino and Sasuke started their debate, Kakashi asked Naruto in a whisper of why they did that. Naruto whispered back that Inoni, Shikamaru, and Choji warned them about Ino's diet. The girl apparently does eat three meals, but they were very little. If she were to eat something like ramen, she would skip the next meal and just stick with water or soup.

Kakashi found it odd that someone like Ino would think to go on a diet since that wasn't ideal for a kunoichi. Naruto said that it was just a girl thing these days. The sensei frowned at the fact that girls these days are more concentrated on nonsensical things like love these days.

After getting their fill without Ino noticing that she ate a full good meal, they went to the training grounds. Ino wanted Kakashi to see how far the boys have come, so she had already set up a race where they were to run up a tall tree to find the location of ninja tools that Kakashi would place somewhere. There will be a time limit so they have to get the pouches of weapons and other necessary equipment as fast as they could. And then after that, the three of them would go against Kakashi to show off their teamwork strategies.

The sensei considered bringing the bells into this, but Sasuke thought holding a scroll would be better since in a real scenario, it would be scrolls that they would hunt for.

With that settled, Kakashi went off to place the tools somewhere they can be spotted from above. When he finished that, he signaled for them to go. He watched them do a seal to concentrate the chakra to their feet. He was almost surprised since this sort of skill wasn't taught in the academy, but then remembered that Ino would've been taught this at a young age to begin with.

He watched as all three of them quickly reached the tree that was tall enough to give them a view for their tools. When spotted, they quickly went off to get it. They each caught their tools before the time was up. And then hid themselves from Kakashi's sight, which signaled for the teamwork to begin.

He remained in plain view, but remained somewhat cautious. Ino was a telepathic, so they could be communicating right now to formulate a plan despite being separated. Ino was also a sensory type, so she could sense Kakashi's chakra. He could get over five miles away from her to make that ability useless, but he really wanted to see what they could come up with.

In this sort of situation, Kakashi figured that Ino would remain in the background to act as support while Sasuke and Naruto were to be the ones to go on the offensive. Just as he figured, Naruto came rushing out with his multiple clones. Kakashi skillfully dodged him, but he did take notice that the boy's taijutsu skills have improved. As the boy attacked, weapons from all over were thrown that Kakashi immediately saw that he was being distracted from something.

From behind him, a Naruto clone appeared, but the hand signs he made had the jounin realize that this wasn't Naruto at all. He tried to move, but from down below, the real Naruto had his ankles, He was trapped for Sasuke's wrath.

But he wasn't one to go easy. He quickly broke through Naruto's grasp and kicked Sasuke's chin up to aim the flame that way. He made for a quick escape, but then he suddenly found himself immobile. He looked down to see that his feet and wrists were tied by a string of chakra made from flexible twigs and leaves. He thought that it was a clever cover up. He found that the source came from the direction where Sasuke charged from, and it trailed all the way back behind a bush.

Ino telepathically connected to him. She giggled in a cute menacing way, _"It looks like we caught you, sensei."_

 _"It appears so that you did. It was my mistake to think that you would stay as backup to act as these two's form of communication. I must admit that I applaud your work in getting these two to work together on this."_

 _"Well, it is a common saying, sensei, that it takes a common enemy to bring a nation together. So you better do something quick, or these boys are going to take that scroll from you."_

 _"You don't have to tell me twice."_ He broke away from the hold, and turned around to face the boys coming at him for the scroll. However, that was a mistake when it turned out that Ino was actually hiding in front of Kakashi. She activated her mind transfer jutsu, and Kakashi allowed her to take control. She took the scroll out and handed it to Naruto who cheered. She released the jutsu since being in her sensei's body was just weird.

Once back in control, Kakashi immediately deduced that situation. Naruto was to corner him at a single spot, so Ino could hide at the place closest to him. Ino had efficient control in chakra to transfer it through the twigs and leaves. String would've been easier, but the element they were going for was the element of surprise. And thus, Sasuke was the one to set up the leaves and twigs around the area, so that Ino could catch him in any direction he might be at. The Uchiha would then set up the rest of the trail in the opposite direction to fool their sensei. It was also a good thing that the wind wasn't blowing, too.

He casually congratulated them, "Well done. You three have shown great progress. You still have a long ways to go, but teamwork-wise, I'm beginning to like the three of you a bit more. You truly did a swell job on these two, Ino. I'm impressed."

The girl, who walked out while cleaning her hair from the twigs and leaves, said, "Yeah. It wasn't easy, but I can't take all the credit. Sasuke was the one who mostly provided the tactical strategies while Naruto was the one to provide the creative ideas. I just simply used my advanced experience to make this possible. We know it's not the best plan, so thanks for taking it easy on us, sensei."

Naruto added, "Yeah, but we totally showed you, huh, sensei! So you better not underestimate us again! Believe it!"

Kakashi smiled, "You're right. So from now on I'll be training you after the missions three times harder than you have been training up til now, and it will be after every mission. We will start out light of course, but each time we train together it will become more difficult and difficult that I advise you not to miss a second of it." He spoke so seriously that the three of them felt both an excitement and fear to what they would be introduced to. "If we have an understanding, then see you tomorrow."

A week passed since that day, and Ino swore she was about to throw the towel in at some point. Kakashi wasn't kidding when he said that things would get more and more difficult each time they trained. After their mundane and tiring missions, they trained by running through obstacle courses where it wasn't only about trying to do special tricks and teamwork. They also had to do studying and researching to figure out how to solve puzzles and riddles that their sensei would give hints to before the trial. If they got it wrong, they were to be punished and forced to restart.

Naruto was one of the main reasons they would get punished and be forced to restart many times. The idiot had no idea how to do any studying or research, so it always put Ino and even Sasuke on edge when he was the one to answer a question. Also because of his brash attitude, he still haven't entirely mastered patience or watching out for traps. He would get hurt so many times that Ino practically already felt like she was becoming a nurse by how many times she had to patch him up. It truly was more challenging with Naruto on board, but the idiot was trying his best.

Despite this though, all of this extra training only fired up Sasuke and the idiot Naruto to try harder as an individual and as a team to get to their goal. Ino was both inspired but exhausted by them, too. She wanted to be a good kunoichi, but it was all too fast paced. However, she wasn't one to give up, so she just sucked it up and got through it.

She was truly thankful for Kakashi giving them two days off instead of the usual one. She always looked forward to them because she would literally spent nearly an entire day sleeping. She would then spend the next day either just doing lazy things before reading up on books to help her figure out what Kakashi had hinted at.

One day, it was a slow day at the flower shop, so she took over at the cashier register to let her mom do what she wanted. She was just reading a magazine until Naruto surprisingly entered the place. "Mm? Naruto? What are you doing here?" She then teased, "Did you happen to find yourself a girlfriend?"

The boy blushed. "No! I just came to buy gardening supplies okay!"

"Gardening supplies?"

"Yeah." Naruto still appeared nervous, but well-intentioned. "I'm still taking care of the morning glory flower you gave me, but it's starting to not look so good. And I also have a plant at home that's doing okay, but I thought I'd swing around to get your advice on it."

That was thoughtful. Ino helpfully answered, "Then I'd be more than happy to help you, Naruto. You must be taking care of the morning glory very well for it to last this long. I'm surprised."

"Well, you shouldn't be. One of my hobbies is watering plants. It's actually really calming taking care of one."

"I hear ya. It's one of the reasons I really love flowers. What kind of plant do you have? You know, I never actually been to your place. How about I drop by?"

"Huh?! Now?!" Naruto thought about how messy it looked.

"Sure. I can give you the best advice if I inspect the plants myself."

"Ah! Nevermind then! I think I have everything under control! Thanks anyway! Bye!"

"Your room is messy isn't it." Ino shot point blank.

"Uuuuuuh..." Naruto couldn't very well deny it. He knew it was expected of him, but the situation made it feel embarrassing. The care for plants and a dirty place didn't sound like a good combination to demonstrate one's character.

But Ino didn't mind. "It's okay. Inoni's room a mess, so I won't be surprised. I'll grab some gardening supplies, first, and then we can go."

"Uh, okay." Naruto felt awkward being left alone to wait since the situation just felt embarrassingly awkward, and not in a way where he can just shout it off.

"Mm? Wanna come to the back with me? I'm closing shop early anyway since it's usually closed during today. I just opened it up to waste some time, and make up for my lack of work hours." The girl went to the front to change the sign, and then had Naruto follow her to the back. There was a bunch of doors, but the very back led to where the gardening supplies were held. Ino picked a few and had Naruto carry some in a bag before they headed off to his place.

After entering it, Ino was not surprised by how it was a simple small apartment. The first room she entered was the kitchen which had a table that wasn't cleaned from the lunch that Naruto had earlier. She saw that a plant was present at the corner beside the windows. She noticed how it was positioned in a proper place where most of the sun's sunlight was shone through. She walked through a hallway to find where the toilet and bath was separately. At the end was the bedroom which held an unkempt bed, dirty clothes left on the floor and things left on the cabinets and drawer chest. There was a convenient door to the balcony, too. She then took notice of the plant that was beside the bed.

The morning glory was placed in a vase on top of a cabinet nearest to the window. It was in fact wilting, but she would get to that in just a moment.

"Wow. I was right, but it's not as bad as Inoni's, and at least there doesn't seem to be any food crumbs on the floor like Choji's room."

"You've been in Choji's room?"

"Yeah. I told you that it was expected of me, Choji and Shikamaru to be friends when we were young. I've been to their houses, and been there for nearly every celebration. We're basically a huge family with no blood ties. Looks like the flower I gave you is wilting a little, and it must be due to the change of season. Flowers are more sensitive to that than your potted plants that look very healthy to me. There's a way to revive this flower by using some home remedies, but there's actually a secret short cut." She placed her finger against her lips and winked, "So you better not tell anyone that I told you this."

That peaked Naruto's interest, so he got closer. He saw Ino placed one hand a few centimeters away from the flower, and then a green aura lit up. "Whoa..." Naruto said under his breath in amazement when he saw the flower regained its full life. "Wow! How did you do that?!"

"What I did was actually a form of medical ninjutsu."

"Medical ninjutsu?"

"Yeah. The jutsu that doctors and nurses from our hospitals use to heal the wounded and perform surgery."

"Oh?! You can do that?!"

"Of course not! Medical ninjutsu is incredibly difficult to perform on a person! But doing it on flowers is easy since all Yamanaka family members are taught on how to heal them just in case our shop were to be damaged by an accident or an attack. But I do plan on learning how to do proper medical ninjutsu later since it's encouraged for ninjas who acts as the support of the team to learn. Right now, I need to focus on getting a hang of my clan's other abilities."

"Cool! So say if someone cuts me or something, you can just heal it all up after I beat the guy?!"

"I guess." Ino wasn't sure of how deep a cut he was talking about.

"Wow! I gotta say you really are amazing, Ino!" Naruto couldn't help complimenting her. His blue eyes sparkling and whole face grinning from ear to ear. "Not only can you do cool mind tricks, and fight really well, but you know so much about plants and healing. I feel like the luckiest man in the world to have you as a teammate!"

Ino felt her cheeks flush up by the compliments. She looked away from Naruto, unsure of how to handle this. Her usual confident demeanor suddenly taking a shift to the opposite.

Naruto noticed that she acted weirdly shy. What with how she couldn't make eye contact while her cheeks were very red. "Huh? Something wrong, Ino?"

"Nothing." She meant to say that frankly, but it came out as an awkward half-whisper. She still couldn't make proper eye-contact when she turned to him. She also couldn't think of what to casually say, so she forced herself to speak. "You really should tidy up this place!" She began picking up his dirty clothes to put them in a laundry basket in the room. She noticed the lack of clothes and style there was. "Is this all you have for clothes? What do you have in the refrigerator?" She went to the kitchen much to Naruto's dismay and order to not look in there.

She saw that what was in there was the usual milk and ramen. "Seriously?! Is this all you have?! I thought I told you to start eating vegetables! Did you even learn how to cook?!"

"Hey! What I eat is none of your business! You're not the boss of me!"

Ino sighed, "It can't be helped then. Come with me." She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the place. The garden supplies were left back at the bedroom.

"Hey! Where are you taking me?!"

"Shopping!"

"Shopping? I'm not going shopping with you!"

"Not that kind of shopping, idiot. I meant to get you healthier food and some more clothes."

"But I don't have any money on me!" That wasn't true, but he was saving his money for more important things.

"Don't worry. I'll buy them."

Naruto was surprised to hear that. "Huh? You will?"

"Yeah. I can't expect someone without a job to start buying stuff, so I'll take care of it." Ino did have quite a lot on her, and she was saving them for some girly things to keep her pretty. But at that moment, she wanted to help Naruto out just to uphold what he said about her.

The two went to a convenience store where Ino bought cheap but delicious and nutritious food to put in Naruto's fridge. Naruto showed distaste for every vegetable and almost every fruit she inspected, which got him a scolding.

After that, they bought the stuff back to the apartment to put them in the fridge. Ino took another look around to see that some repairs were needed, so she took it upon herself to talk to the landlord about this later. First, she took Naruto back out to go shopping for clothes.

"You can't live off of wearing the same thing everyday. You should have something different to wear during days off, too." She said as she looked over the different kinds of jackets fit for men.

"But I like my jacket."

"I'm not saying you have to make a permanent switch. I'm just giving you something else to wear on your days off, so you don't completely wear out this one. I'm surprised it didn't shred apart by how rowdy you are."

"That's because I know this really awesome seamstress who can make my jacket look all new and stuff!" Naruto said proudly. "She's old, but she's really nice and great!"

"Hm. Maybe I'd like to meet her if if I end up ruining my blouse." Ino noted to herself while continuing to search for clothes that would suit the boy. "Anyway, you should also take this as an opportunity to look nice when you find yourself on a date with a girl you like."

"A d-date?!" Naruto was shocked that someone believed that he could possibly go on one.

Ino didn't believe in that at all, but it was a way to convince the guy to dress a bit more attractive. "Yeah. You don't want to go on a date in your orange tracksuit do you? Girls like a guy who wears clothes that show off their attractive build and give off an air of a gentleman."

"Really?" Naruto knew he knew nothing about convincing his crush to like him, so he listened carefully.

"Trust me, Naruto. I know what I'm saying. Just like how guys like girls who are thin and beautiful, girls like guys who are cool and treat them well."

"Cool? You mean like Sasuke's cool?" Naruto grimaced because Sasuke was cool, but he didn't want to be a jerk like him.

"Yeah, but you can't be Sasuke. Not that I'm saying that as a bad thing. You should be yourself. Just be less...yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" That didn't make any sense or make him feel good at all!

"I mean don't act entirely the way you are like you do with me. I tolerate you being a complete doofus who pulls pranks on people, act like a pervert, and gets into fights too easily. It just shows that you're completely immature and hard to deal with. When you're on a date, you want your best qualities to shine."

"My best qualities?" Naruto grimaced again with furrowed brows because he tried to think of one at the top of his head that was best to show on a date.

Ino helped him, "Well for one, you should share your dreams about being hokage. It sounds ridiculous, but it shows that you're ambitious and strong-willed. And when you're sharing hobbies, you should just tell them about how you like to water plants since it makes you calm. It shows that you do have troubling days like anyone else, but you find ways to overcome that. It makes you appear not only relatable, but also dependable and nurturing since plants are living things that need to be constantly taken care off."

Naruto felt his cheeks redden a bit. "You really think I'm dependable and strong-willed?"

Ino gave him an honest smile, and frankly told him, "Of course! Teammates are supposed to see the best in each other."

The boy felt his cheeks redden a brighter shade of red. He really was weak to compliments. "Thanks, Ino. You really are the best." Ino discovered that she was, too.

Then to their surprise, Iruka-sensei appeared in the clothing shop. "Naruto! Ino! What are you two doing here? I was just walking by, and I couldn't help noticing Naruto's orange jacket." He looked to Naruto, "I just didn't think that I've ever seen you enter one before by yourself."

"It wasn't my idea. It was Ino's." He said as if he was passing the blame on to her.

Ino rightfully defended herself, "That's because you only had like three t-shirts, and one pants besides the one you're wearing now. I can't afford to buy you a whole wardrobe, but these cheap donations are not a total fashion cry, and they're quite comfortable to wear. Want to join, Iruka-sensei? You know Naruto better, and he's surprisingly picky."

"Uh, sure. I'd be more than happy to help." Iruka was pleasantly surprised that Ino was going out of her way to help Naruto get some clothes that he should really have. He also did the same thing for Naruto as he grew up and got too big for his old clothes, so he sure did know about his pickiness.

For over two hours, the three of them went through different clothes, and Iruka offered to be the one to pay instead since he was a full-time working adult. Ino was more than happy to let him, and Naruto appeared to be a bit bothered, but also a bit happy with the new stuff he got.

In the middle of it while Naruto was in the dressing room, Iruka-sensei openly thanked Ino for her generosity. "I heard from Kakashi-sensei of how you took it upon yourself to help Naruto learn what I should've taught him back at the academy. I always knew Naruto needed special attention, but with how he was a difficult kid to get a hold on and there wasn't enough staff members willing to deal with him, I thought he wouldn't have graduated."

"I can't take all the credit, Iruka-sensei. Naruto did learn some things from you back at the academy, so he wasn't completely difficult to tutor. He's also very creative and determined, so he's not a complete hopeless case." Ino admitted frankly.

That made Iruka feel relieved. "That's good to hear. I've been worrying if he's been as much trouble for you as much as he was for me."

"Oh, he is. But he didn't ditch any of the missions and comes on time, so I guess he's also maturing."

"Really? That's surprising to hear."

Naruto appeared in the new clothes, having heard that last part. "Surprising to hear what? Are you talking about me?"

Iruka just smiled while Ino teased him, which got the hot tempered boy mad.

After the shopping, Iruka had to leave since he was a teacher. They were the ones with the biggest homework and projects of them all in the school, after all.

"So you finally have a fully stocked fridge, and you got yourself some new clothes!" Ino announced happily. "Next time, we should get you some kitchen and cleaning supplies, and talk to your landlord about fixing the leak in your sink. You are financed by the government since you don't have parents, so you should probably look into spending your money on something more like that. And hey, if you don't have anything to eat in the fridge besides ramen, you can drop by my place. My mom would be more than happy to have an extra mouth to feed. We always stock up on food since the Akamichi's would come over, and she loves company."

"...Ino..."

"Hm?" The girl looked to her teammate to see him frowning at the ground. "What's wrong, Naruto?"

"Nothing's wrong. It's just that..." He held up his head and showed a grin that should've brightened up the day, but it appeared to be full of pain but also gratitude. "Thanks, Ino. You really are an amazing teammate."

Ino found herself blushing again and unable to look at him. She knew she was being ridiculous, but Naruto's words were full of warmth, that it made her already warm face feel hot. "You don't have to thank me. It's just what teammates do for each other." She hated how fragile she sounded.

Then Naruto said, "Is this what being a teammate supposed to be like? To be honest, Ino, it really feels like we're friends." The boy said that with a shy tone of his own.

Ino felt stupid for a moment since she thought she should've considered the two of them to be friends in the first place instead of just teammates. She remembered what happened the last time she had a friend that wasn't tied by tradition or blood, but she had a definite feeling that Naruto was different. And that made her frightfully happy.

While this happened, Sasuke happened to be walking by with a chattering Sakura. This wasn't the first time she's done this, and he told her to go away, but at this point, he just let her tag along while ignoring her. His eyes then caught the orange of Naruto's jacket and the back of his head. The Uchiha also noticed a familiar blonde facing him.

Sakura noticed them, too, "Huh? Isn't that Ino and Naruto?"

Sasuke was curious as to what his teammates were doing together on their day offs, but his attention immediately shifted to Ino's face. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw how bashful she looked. He found himself walking to them for answers, ignoring Sakura's plea to wait a bit for her.

"Hey." He greeted.

Naruto heard his voice, so turned around. Him and Ino were shocked to see him and Sakura together. Both of the blondes yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING TOGETHER?!"

Sakura's response was a triumphant grin, and a little lie, "What? You didn't know that me and Sasuke always hang out during his day offs?"

Ino felt furious that the pink haired billboard brow was sneaking up a point behind her back this whole time! The Yamanaka barely had any time at all to properly flirt with Sasuke after Kakashi began working them to the bone! Naruto was just sad that it wasn't him.

Sasuke ignored this to question, "What are you two doing?"

Naruto yelled at him, "It's none of your business what we're doing here!" He was really jealous that the two were practically on a date!

"Naruto, don't yell at Sasuke!" Ino berated him.

"Hmph! Well, we're done here, so I'm going home!" The blonde couldn't stand the sight of his ultimate rival and his ultimate crush being together! He strode away as quickly as possible.

"Naruto!" Ino followed him, completely forgetting her rivalry with Sakura over Sasuke.

"Huh?" Sakura found that weird. She then gasped when she came to a realization. "Sasuke! Don't tell me that they're..."

Sasuke frowned at this. He noticed that the two were close, but he didn't how close they were. And that bothered him for some reason.

Ino soon caught up to Naruto to hold his arm to stop him. "Hey, Naruto! Hold on a second! Don't just stomp away like that? I thought I told you to keep your cool in front of your crush!"

"What?! You know that I like Sakura?!"

Ino looked at him with a deadpanned expression. "How could I not with how you turn into a complete dope in front of her?"

"Argh! So Sakura knows!"

"She'd have to be as dumb as you to not. But you should probably give up. She only has eyes for Sasuke." The two decided to take a moment to chill by sitting down in front of a dango shop where they were served.

"I know that." The boy groaned. "But I'm not gonna give up! I'm gonna be better than that bastard, and Sakura is bound to fall for me!"

"Oh yeah, the billboard-brow will totally fall head over heels for you in another sixty years or so by how you're acting." Ino sarcastically remarked.

"Hey! Don't call her billboard-brow!"

"Then stop calling Sasuke a bastard!"

The two glared at each other, but they dropped it when their dango arrived. Naruto then had to ask, "Anyway, why did you follow me? In fact, I noticed that you flirt with Sasuke, but you're not all over him like I thought you'd be. You even chased after me instead of trying to grab him away from Sakura like you would."

"I came after you because you were acting like a brat! You really need manners instilled into you!"

"I don't need something like that!"

"That's what a troublemaker would say." She muttered, and went on to answer his other question, "Anyway, I guess it's okay to tell you. It's not like it's a secret and it's not a law either, but people who are ninjas in my clan cannot marry or have the child of someone with a kekkei genkai."

"Eh? Why not?"

"Because it's a whole power balance thing. You should know that Sasuke is strong, but if he knew my clan's abilities, he would be even stronger and dangerous. Not only will he be able to read and copy your abilities, but he would also be able to read your mind, so you'll become even more predictable."

"A power like that could disrupt the balance between the clans in Konoha." Sasuke appeared without Sakura in tow.

"Sasuke!" Ino cried out happily at the fact that her rival isn't with him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto was surprised by his appearance, and immediately asked, "Where's Sakura?"

"She had errands to do." He answered curtly before adding to what Ino was saying, "It's not only that people with hidden jutsus or a kekkei genkai can't be together, but it's the same for those with similar clans. By spoken law, I'm advised to not marry someone with a different kekkei genkai than me, and Ino, who is to be her clan's future leader, cannot marry important members of other hidden clans. Not only is it considered a threat to the purity of the sharigan or the traditions of a hidden clan, but just as Ino told you, it could prove dangerous."

"I still don't get it." Naruto tried to wrap around the many nouns.

Ino tried to simplify it, "Basically, Sasuke and I can't get together because our kid would be considered a weapon that threatens the very delicate power balance between almost all the clans in Konoha. I also can't get with Shikamaru or Choji, not that I would, because they are also the future leader of his clan. By tradition, our first borns have to become a team together to keep our alliance strong. There was an exception that one of us can pull a close relative to fill in the role, but who will do it is the problem."

"Why is that a problem?"

"Since it will make people think that the one who did it doesn't care for traditions, and that could ruin the alliance since we're supposed to stand as equals who care a great deal about it. It's dishonorable."

Sasuke added, "And I can't marry someone with a kekkei genkai since not only would it be considered an act of making the Uchiha blood impure, but the child would also be considered a dangerous weapon that should be killed on the spot to keep the balance."

Naruto felt disgust and shivers at the sound of that. "So wait, people will kill the kid just because of who his parents are?"

Ino answered, "Only for Sasuke's case if he were to have a baby with someone with a kekkei genkai. But for me, if I have a child with a person with a kekkei genkai, the child will be allowed to live, but will be forbidden to learn our jutsus. For the relationship between hidden clan members, it's just a complete mess."

Naruto fell silent as he thought about what they said, and what he came up with was, "I still don't see how that's right." He just didn't like how people would suddenly assume that a kid who belonged to two strong parents was a weapon meant to be killed. If anything, that kid should be hailed as a prideful power of the village. Not someone to be scared of...

Ino told him, "It doesn't matter if you feel if it's right or wrong. People want there to be a balance to things, and that comes with sacrifice. If you're going to be hokage, Naruto, you need to understand that."

"But what if you really like someone you can't be with?" Naruto asked, "Can you really ignore your feelings? What if he likes you back? Can you ignore his?"

The heiress maturely answered, "We all have our parts to play. If the one I like likes me back, and we can't be together for the sake of our clans, he would be the type to understand that, and respect my decision to choose my clan over us." Ino kept her eyes low, so they didn't land on onyx ones.

Sasuke's eyes were on her, and he recognized her crush on him, but that meant nothing to him. Yet, he respected Ino's take on her emotions. He then switched the conversation, "Anyway, you guys didn't answer my question earlier. Today's our day-off, so I can't help thinking it's odd that the two of you are spending it together."

Naruto glared at him since he really didn't want Sasuke to know his business when he was off on a date with Sakura. He looked away with a huff, "I'm not telling you."

Ino tiredly scolded him, "Stop that." She then answered, "Naruto came by my shop for gardening tools. I figured that since it was a slow day, I'd visit his place, and lo and behold, it was a complete pigsty."

"Takes one to see it that way." Naruto grumbled.

"What did you say?!" Ino rightfully hit him on the head for that comment, and Naruto held his pained head. She then composed herself to complain, "Anyway, I decided to buy Naruto some real food in his refrigerator since all he had was ramen and milk in there. He also barely had any clothes, so we went shopping, and Iruka-sensei came around to help us." Sasuke definitely noticed the bags, but thought they were Ino's. "Maybe next time, the three of us can go shopping."

"No way! I'm not shopping with him!" Naruto declared.

Ino was so done with his attitude that she no longer had the energy to deal with his tsundere-ness. "I'm exhausted. We got a big day tomorrow, so bye guys." She said, but then flirtatiously told Sasuke, "Unless you want to do something together, Sasuke."

The boy stoically answered, "I just finished my own training for the day, and heading back to rest for tomorrow. We should all do the same."

Naruto grimaced at the word training. Like geeze, doesn't this guy know how to lighten up. He wanted to be strong, too, but day offs were invented for a reason! He thought that, but at the same time couldn't help feeling inadequate.

Ino understood, and gave her goodbye with a cheer, "Then let's try our best, Sasuke! Bye Naruto! Better eat the vegetables I bought you! I didn't waste my money on you for nothing, y'know!" She then walked away with a satisfied smile after paying for the dango.

Naruto grimaced at her order, and decided to leave, too with his bags.

Sasuke went on to do his own thing, too.

._._._.

Two weeks went by since that day, and Ino had been too tired for the five days of those weeks to notice anything weird. But on her day offs, she did notice something off with her father and the flower shop regulars, but didn't think too much of it. She was too busy paying attention to Naruto who would visit the flower shop, so he could get more pointers about gardening. He also really wanted to learn how to heal plants, too. Ino didn't plan on teaching him medical ninjutsu, but she figured it would be a good refresher to teach him about the different types of plants.

She would then go over to Naruto's place afterwards to see if he had bothered to try to eat any of the vegetables. To her no surprise but deep disappointment, he hadn't, so she went out of her way to teach him how to make a salad or a healthy drink that she would make for her diet. Naruto didn't want to consume anything she made, but Ino was terrifying when she was mad, so he forced himself to eat what she made.

And to his surprise, he actually didn't mind eating the salad. Though some were watery, bitter, and/or dry, it wasn't all that bad. But for the healthy drink, he spit it out in the sink before he thought it would poison him. He saw Ino also struggled keeping it down, but she swallowed it whole. Women were definitely unreasonably strong was what Naruto thought.

After all that, the two just chilled in his bedroom talking about random things like their favorite memories, colors, and even romance. Ino also figured that she should help him get ready for the next hint. It was a challenge like usual to tutor him, but Naruto eventually got the hang of the information given to him. He then figured that he should treat her to dinner as a thank you for helping him out and for the other day. Ino questioned if he could afford it, which insulted the boy, but he quickly became discouraged when he remembered that girls were expensive. Ino did prefer a nice place, but it wasn't like Naruto was her boyfriend, so she settled for a modest restaurant. Ichiraku's was too fattening after all.

Naruto was relieved, and the two enjoyed their time together there. Ino couldn't help having fun when Naruto told her his funny stories where he got himself in embarrassing situations. Naruto also found himself pulled in by the stories that Ino had of Sakura and dished out what the pink haired girl's likes, dislikes and hobbies were.

"Why did you two stop being friends anyway?" He had to ask.

Ino who felt like swinging with the fun mood answered, "It was so we could become rivals of love and ninja. Sakura doesn't know that I can't be with Sasuke since I never told her, and when she said that we should end our friendship, so we could fight for him, I never bothered to tell her."

"How come?" Naruto liked Sakura, but he couldn't help thinking that what she did was just the worst! He was someone who wished he had friends, and Ino wasn't exactly at the top of his list, but he'd cherish her.

"Because I didn't want to discourage her." Ino reminisced the first time they met. "You don't know Naruto since the girls and boys were separated at the beginning of the academy, but Sakura was bullied by the girls because she had a big forehead."

"What?!" Naruto was furious by that!

Ino nodded as she took a sip of her drink. "It's true. She would run off crying, and try to cover it with her hair, but that just made her look weird. Now don't get me wrong. I didn't approach her because I pitied her. I noticed her at first because of her name. As a gardener, it's hard not to be fascinated with someone with a name of a flower, and when those girls bullied her, I was annoyed by how she just ran away. So I approached her to teach her some confidence, and I started with giving her a ribbon."

"Ribbon? You mean that red ribbon that Sakura used to wear came from you?"

"Yup! It made her look cute didn't it."

"The cutest! To be honest with you, I never really noticed her high forehead. All I could think was that she had the cutest face."

"I know right! That's what I thought when I saw her. But no matter how cute, Sakura was really shy when we were young, and still struggled to fight against her bullies, so I had to step in and save her. She was glad when I would do that, but she would get jealous, too. She wanted to be a great kunoichi, but just couldn't find the edge to inspire her. But then when the boys and girls classes got mixed, Sakura saw Sasuke, and instantly fell in love. When she heard that I liked him, too, I guess she just couldn't let herself lose anymore. Through Sasuke, she was inspired to stop being a complete cry baby and make something of herself, so he could pay attention to her. And as her friend, I was hurt when she ended things with us, but I understood. I want Sakura to bloom, and if that meant being a complete bitch to her, then I can't complain."

Naruto's eyes lit up when he heard that. He still thought that what Sakura did was wrong, but he understood her, too. He understood why she would want to try to impress Sasuke. He was doing that, too. And he guessed that Sakura was also doing what she could to win against and impress Ino. That just fired up Naruto more to try his best with her.

He felt his cheeks flushed when he could vividly imagine Sakura's cute face. Ino saw his goofy expression, and teased him. Naruto couldn't help smiling while feeling embarrassed.

After dinner, Naruto walked Ino home. While they were, Naruto complained about the boring missions they're given by the hokage. After being trained silly by their sensei, just going through the mundane missions felt like a waste of time. Ino couldn't help agreeing. They then end up mocking their sensei which had them laughing.

While they were doing this, they were unaware of the stares that they were getting. Especially from certain trios.

The first was Inoni, Shikamaru and Choji who were taking a walk to Choji's place to see his new games. They were all deeply surprised when they saw them.

"Whoa," Choji said, "Are the rumors true after all?"

Shikamaru uncharacteristically answered without hesitation, "No way. They're teammates. It's only natural that they'd be hanging out together." His voice still sounded lazy, but there was a bit of negative energy in the background.

"Without emo prince?" Inoni questioned. "I mean there's no way the rumors are true, but something's been off with sis."

"Off?" Choji inquired.

"It's a thing only women can understand, but's nothing to concern yourself about. And I ain't one to believe rumors, so none of my business to snoop. Unless, there's someone here jealous." She grinned cheekily at Shikamaru who scowled and rejected her unspoken assumption.

The second trio was Kiba with Akamaru, Hinata and Shino who were just done with dinner.

"No way! Is that Ino and Naruto?!" Kiba cried out in deep surprise.

Shino observed, "It appears so. But it's only natural that they be together. Why? Because they are teammates, and it's only natural that they would try to strengthen their bond. As for their third member-"

"Yeah, Sasuke is a loner, so there's no way the rumors are true." Kiba figured. Despite saying that, Hinata frowned at the sight of Naruto enjoying Ino's bright company. The complete opposite of her company. Kiba then remembered about her feelings, "Oh right, don't you have a crush on that Naruto guy?"

Hinata looked down to not show her sadness.

Shino answered, "Of course, she does. But right now, we should be concentrating to level our skills for any danger or when the chuunin exams begins."

"Sheesh, we just became genin. And you're already aiming to be chuunin?" Kiba couldn't believe this guy.

The serious male replied, "The sooner we prepare ourselves, then the sooner we'll be recognized for our efforts."

At those words, Hinata thought she was being comforted for a second as they walked on, and Kiba still thought the guy was weird.

The third one was Sakura and her team.

"Shannaro! They totally are dating!" Sakura cheered since that meant that she had more of a chance to get Sasuke! She was the culprit who began spreading the rumors.

"Oi, enough with your gossiping." Her teammate, who was usually cold and strict since she was the leader of the team, scolded Sakura. "We need you to concentrate on memorizing the mission details that we're telling you. You better make sure to study up the landmarks for the village that we're heading to."

"Also work on your genjutsu." Her other teammate, who was pretty lazy but was a natural at performing ninjutsu tricks and traps, reminded Sakura.

The pink haired girl complained, "I know! I know! You two aren't my parents you know!"

Both of them looked back at her. The strict one glowered while the lazy one frowned as they said in unison, "And who was it exactly who couldn't defend herself?"

Sakura grimaced at the memory of when the their team was just heading to a village to help out an old couple move some stuff. A trio of rogue ninjas attacked them for information. Her teammates and their sensei was able to take them down, but their sensei got injured due to protecting Sakura. The girl felt guilty for that, but she really was trying her best to make up for that!

._._._.

"NO! NO! NO! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! I WANT TO DO, y'know, A MORE INCREDIBLE MISSION! FIND US A BETTER ONE!" Naruto was so done with the mundane missions. They just made him feel lazy before the real training with Kakashi, and he just couldn't do that anymore. He needed to be challenged!

Sasuke and Ino definitely agreed, having felt the same. Kakashi inwardly sighed, knowing that this would eventually happen.

The hokage lectured them about how the whole mission ranks worked, and what a great benefit they were for the village, but the pre-teens weren't bothering to listen. Especially Naruto, yelling out that he wasn't the same kid he was before. And after discovering what sick humor Kakashi had, he truly did feel like he was a new man after surviving that and coping with it.

Somehow his whining got the hokage to give them a C-rank mission, which led to them protecting Tazuna. A drunk, expert bridge builder who didn't waste time on getting on Naruto's _short_ temper.

Shortly after that, they packed up for the mission and set off to the Wave country that Kakashi explained was not a shinobi country, but it didn't mean it was ruled over by other countries filled with shinobi. It simply stood on its own without being interfered with the other countries, that held grand military power and owned a kage who represented to be the strongest among ninjas. Ino already knew about the kage part since her clan was close to the Sarutobi clan, but it was hard to believe that the old man would still be considered the strongest ninja in the village at his age. But there used to be a fourth after all, so it can't be helped that he was still the hokage.

Suddenly out of nowhere when they were walking, ninjas from the mist village attacked Kakashi with their chains and tore him to pieces. Ino froze for a second before her heart leaped when they appeared behind Naruto. Sasuke sprung into action, and that woke Ino up to get Tazuna behind her for protection. Sasuke was able to successfully remove their chains, but the two still went on the attack. One went to Naruto while the other headed for Ino.

Ino threw two kunais with an explosive tag, and pushed Tazuna back to not be hurt by it. The two kunai got the two mist ninjas before either of them could get to them. It still didn't keep them down though, but Kakashi arrived to keep them that way. The one that got hurt turned out to be an illusion. He apologized to Naruto for not helping him out since he didn't expect him to remain frozen. He went on to praise Sasuke and Ino.

Naruto was still feeling shocked by his first true battle experience outside of the village. He looked on to Sasuke to recognize how far more competent he was compared to him even after all that hard training they did together.

Sasuke didn't make it an better with his taunt, "You alright, Mr. Scaredy Cat?"

Ino lightly scolded him before Naruto could burst, "Don't mock him, Sasuke. It's the first time we've been attacked by a real threat besides sensei. It's only natural that we'd be taken by surprise."

Sasuke still cockily smirked. Naruto was seriously going to burst, but Kakashi ordered him to save it for later, and to keep still because of the scratch he got from the ninja's poisonous claws. Ino looked at his wound to identify the poison since she was very knowledgeable of several deadly poisons that would be concocted by plants. She saw that the cut and poison were minor, so he had him squeeze the blood out.

While she had him do that, Kakashi got down to what was really happening. Turned out their guy was being targeted for some reason, which made their C-mission turn into a B-mission. Something that was too much for the genin's to handle.

Ino and Sasuke looked to each other to figure out whether they should go back to the village. They weren't prepared for such a mission, but Sasuke wanted the challenge. Ino was apprehensive, but at the moment, she couldn't really imagine the danger, so was more against the decision. She didn't want to dive into the mundane missions or Kakashi's strict training too soon.

However, the two of them and Kakashi looked to Naruto, and their sensei figured that they should go back.

Naruto gritted his teeth at the blatant lack of faith they all had in him. He squeezed his hand harder to get the blood out, but how slowly it flowed irritated him more as his mind descended deeper and deeper into rage for his shortcomings. He trained so hard, and yet he was completely useless to his teammates, and actually needed saving.

Ino noticed how hard his grip was. "Naruto..."

At the sound of Ino's voice, Naruto quickly remembered how he utterly failed to be there for her during their first survival training, and then began remembering how hard he worked to act as a teammate for her and for Sasuke. It was true that he froze up on their first real battle, but he wasn't the type to make the same mistake twice when it came to his team. He promised himself that.

"Heh." he smiled. "I'm alright. You don't have to worry about me." He stared determinedly at their sensei. "I was just spooked. That's all. But I swear that I'm not gonna let that happen again. You hear me! We're continuing this mission whether you like it or not! I'll protect this old man with my life if I have to!"

Everyone stared at him, and the males then noticed how hard he was squeezing his hand to get the blood out. They were taken a bit back by his determination, but it almost convinced their sensei to have the mission continue. Kakashi then teased Naruto about how he was going to suffer from blood loss if he squeezed any harder which completely panicked the idiot.

Ino smacked him to calm down, and then began properly cleaning the wound. She saw it heal, which was nothing new to her, but she still bandaged it up since healed wounds were still sensitive.

Afterwards, Tazuna told them about how building the bridge was meant to help his country's freedom and economy, but that would get in the way of a shipping magnate. He then gave a sob story that guilt tripped Kakashi into doing the mission after all.

._._._.

A/N: So yeah, this chapter focused more on Naruto and Ino bonding. Not so much Sasuke since he keeps to himself more, and focuses more on training.

And if you haven't noticed, Sakura's teammates who are girls may not have names in the future. They're just filler characters who are hard on Sakura, so she can put that big brain of hers to good use. They don't care for anything else that Sakura does that doesn't involve their training or missions.

And I completely changed that whole Naruto stabbing the back of his hand moment. I wanted to keep it in the chapter, but it just didn't fit with how this story was progressing, but I hope I still kept Naruto at least somewhat...Naruto-ish.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! It's rushed! But that's my style!

._._._.

Team 7 arrived at the village of the mist silently by boat, so they wouldn't be detected. Everything was almost completely blanketed by a mist, that it was hard to take in the sight. It all looked so eerie for Ino, that she began second guessing their decision to continue the mission. However, she reminded herself that it was like this because it was the morning. The mist was to disappear later in the afternoon.

When they reached land, Ino told herself to relax but remain cautious of her surroundings. But that became difficult when Naruto began acting like a complete dunce. She berated him when he accidentally killed a rabbit just to show up Sasuke. However, she immediately stopped when she sensed a dangerous chakra suddenly appear.

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Kakashi cried out.

Naruto and Ino immediately obeyed, and Sasuke got Tazuna down before any of them got slashed by the gigantic sword. They got up to see their attacker standing on the handle of his sword steadied by a tree. Ino felt chilled down to the bone by the stranger's chakra. She began to feel her legs quiver.

"Ino." Sasuke whispered to her, and held her hand to get her attention.

She turned her head to him, and was as white as a ghost. Not wanting to make a peep in front of him, she telepathically told her teammates and sensei, _"His...His chakra. It's..."_

Kakashi used the telepathic link to order the team to stay back because who they were facing was one of the hidden mist's missing-nin, Momochi Zabuza. A man who was at a whole other level that should be left to him to handle. Ino didn't hesitate to draw back and have Tazuna stay behind her. Sasuke and Naruto remained where they stood just in case they had to step up to the plate, but their sensei ordered for them to do the same.

Kakashi then greeted the frightening missing-nin who also happened to know him as the ninja who possessed a sharingan. The three genins were shocked to discover this, but it was revealed that unlike Sasuke's own, he only had one in his left eye, and it had three commas instead of two. They then discovered that their sensei was known as the man who had copied over a thousand justus which earned him the name, 'Copy Ninja Kakashi'.

The three genins wanted answers for this because Sasuke was the only surviving member of the uchiha clan. There's no way their sensei could be an Uchiha.

But answers had to come later because Zabuza was ready to strike. The genins held their stance by Tazuna, but the man released a thick mist that made it difficult for them to see. Ino could still sense him and his growing chakra along with Kakashi's chakra building, too. The build up made it hard for her to concentrate or even breathe for that matter. It just couldn't be human.

 _"Ino, you can stop sensing his chakra. I know it's too much for you to bear. And Sasuke, don't worry. I'll protect you guys even if it kills me."_ Kakashi told them with a well-meaning, promising look, "I don't let my comrades die."

The genins felt relieved for a moment until Zabuza spontaneously appeared right behind them. Kakashi moved them out of the way as he stopped his blade. It was then a game of water clones fighting each other until Zabuza was able to get the better of their sensei with the swing of his sword. Kakashi dived into the water, but Zabuza used the location to create a water prison.

The mad monster then created a water clone to take care of them. He went after Naruto, and he must've decided to play with them first because he just hit the kid down.

Kakashi ordered for them to run away, and they were all tempted to do it, but out of nowhere, Naruto charged at him. Ino felt her heart dropped, "Naruto!" She watched him get hit again, and she yelled at him, "Naruto, you idiot! What were you thinking just charging at him like that!" She then noticed what was in his hand. It was the headband that Iruka gave him.

"Hey...you eyebrowless freak." Naruto fixed his headband where it was meant to be. "Put this in your stupid handbook. The man who's gonna become hokage one day." He looked up with the face of a brave idiot ready to go in for the kill, "Leaf village's Naruto Uzumaki!"

Ino felt Naruto change into someone a lot more dependable in this crazy situation. The boy then asked for her to hook them up because he had a wild plan. Kakashi once again ordered for them to run! Their mission was to keep Tazuna safe, but the old man, who must've become delusional from all the mist, allowed the twelve-year-olds to handle this.

The mist must've been getting to all of them because Sasuke and Naruto were ready to do their thing. Ino felt her fear against the demonic energy lessen. They were fighting against a formidable opponent, but what Naruto had planned, as crazy as it may have sounded, was something worth trying out. They weren't going to leave their sensei in the mercy of this asshole.

She let herself sense the man's chakra, and didn't let herself cower against it. But that nearly changed when Zabuza's past was revealed as the child who changed the mist village's graduation tradition by murdering all of the students. It made more sense to run, but then the bastard attacked Sasuke. Ino wanted to charge, but she was left on duty to make sure not a second water clone appeared to kill Tazuna. She had to remain still and use her ability to keep their objective safe.

She watched as her two teammates cleverly executed their plan to have Sasuke throw a shuriken and another shuriken that was actually Naruto who forced Zabuza to release Kakashi.

The three genins watched as their freed sensei perfectly copied the missing-nin's water dragon jutsu, and went even further to read his mind, and then perform his jutsu before he did.

An explosion of water erupted, that it made the situation feel like a sea storm took place on the battlefield. When it was over, Kakashi was about to go in for the kill, yet out of nowhere, needles pierced through the man's throat. Then a strange ninja appeared at a tree. Kakashi checked Zabuza's body to find no pulse whatsoever, so claimed him to be dead, but Ino strangely still felt the man's chakra weakly.

The weird ninja with a mask the kids never seen before introduced himself as a hunter-nin who was after Zabuza. As welcoming as that should have sounded, it only ticked off Naruto because they worked so hard to take the man down, and it happened in less than two-seconds from a bunch of needles thrown by some kid no older than them. Kakashi told Naruto it was only to be expected since some kids who were younger than them can be stronger than even him.

The hunter-nin was then about to take the body, but Ino knew something was definitely wrong. "Wait, I think he's still alive. I can still feel his chakra. It's weak, but it's no-"

The hunter-nin immediately went on the offensive, and threw her needles at them. Kakashi was quick to prevent the hunter-nin from escaping with the body. Sasuke and Naruto with his clones went in to back up their sensei because they were much less afraid of this guy. Knowing he was overwhelmed, he quickly used the most cliche' method for escape.

Ino had dodged the stranger's needles, and was going to go back to protecting Tazuna. But then she found herself suddenly surrounded by water needles. Kakashi immediately noticed this and tried to reach her, but another water clone prevented him to make it in time. Ino screamed when her legs were attacked, and felt at the brink of tears at the sting when they melted.

"INO!" Naruto cried out in rage.

 _"I'm okay! I'm okay! Don't give this bastard, Zabuza. He's obviously working with him or he would've gotten to the bridge builder while you were distracted."_ She told them.

"It's best that you don't move, or she dies." The stranger threatened with a needle held at her eye.

"You bastard!" Naruto felt himself boil, but then Kakashi, without hesitation, gave up.

"Take him."

"What?!" Everyone looked at him like he was crazy, but the sensei explained, "It's like I said. I don't let my comrades die. You can take Zabuza, but you leave Ino and Tazuna unharmed. Understand."

The stranger took a moment to pause before answering, "Understood." He let Ino go, and took Zabuza away without interference from anyone.

"Ino!" Naruto ran up to her, and saw the small bleeding holes in her legs.

"I'm okay, Naruto. I'm okay. That guy didn't hit anything vital. I can still walk. But not right now." She tried to tell him casually, but the pain was a bit much. She focused on breathing.

"Can you use your medical ninjutsu?" Naruto questioned hopefully.

Ino gave him a weak smile. "Idiot. I can only do that on plants. But I could really use some medical attention."

"Then where's the hospital! Oi, old man! Where is it?!"

"It's okay, Naruto." Kakashi told him. "The needles didn't go in that deep. We just have to clean up the wounds and bandage it up. It's a good thing you bought medical supplies." He told Ino as he took them out to wrap them up. He then carried her all the way to Tazuna's place to lie her down on the bed before completely collapsing from exhaustion.

Tazuna's daughter was very kind to lay out two futons for those two. Ino looked over to Naruto and Sasuke to see guilt written all over their faces. "Hey, no more of those gloomy faces! Kakashi sensei and I are alright! Right sensei?"

"Yes, we are. You should be able to heal and walk properly again in a day or two. But for me, I'm afraid it will take a week. Which should be more than enough because it will also take a week for Zabuza to return to full strength."

Naruto questioned of why that is, and Kakashi went on to explain about momentary deaths that could be caused by needles. He then went on to explain how real hunter-nins work, and how thankful he was that Ino caught on to the act because it did in fact slip his mind of how hunter-nins properly did their business, and how needles worked as weapons.

"Other than Zabuza to worry about, there's no assurances that Gatou hasn't hired an even stronger shinobi. The three of you had shown great improvement in your ninja training. Especially you, Naruto. You improved the most." He let the boy know, but Naruto appeared doubtful after how it ended. _"It looks like almost losing Ino hit him hard."_ He looked over to Sasuke who was in between deep thoughts and listening. _"Sasuke as well."_ He was proud to see the strong bonds that had formed between the three, but this hardened maturity should not turn into complete stone, so he spoke in a more playful voice that kept its seriousness, "It looks like I will have to teach you guys some new moves to help you in your new environment."

"Huh?" Naruto couldn't imagine what new tricks they could learn.

Kakashi explained, "We are currently in the Land of Waves and we'll be guarding a bridge builder to boot. That means like earlier, you will be fighting with and on water."

"With and on water?" That was a strange way to put it for the whiskered boy.

The sensei played coy, "You'll understand once we begin. But of course, this is just training until I get better since you won't be able to defeat Zabuza without me."

Naruto was a little lost from all this water talk but he did understand that he was going to get stronger to protect his teammates! He was fired up, "So we'll train until then!" He then told Ino excitedly, getting that childish spark in his eyes again, "And when your legs heal up, we'll help you train! It's going to be fun!"

Ino smiled endearingly at her helpless friend. Naruto truly did shape up against Zabuza of all people that Kakashi wouldn't be around if it weren't for him. Ino thought for a second that he truly could be hokage one day but that still sounded like wishful thinking.

The lit up atmosphere then dropped when a small depressing boy appeared and claimed, "That's not fun."

Naruto heard that as an insult against their teamwork by some stranger. "Who the hell are you?!"

Turns out that he was the bridge builder's grandson, Inari, and boy, did he have an attitude. His mother told him to say hello, but instead reasoned that they were just going to die anyway. Ino's jaw drop at his rudeness, and before Naruto could yell, she was the one to scold him first, "Hey! Don't talk about us as if we're already gone, you little twerp! We already put down plenty of his assassins, and what you see here is only a minor set back!" If she could walk, she'd pinch his ear and give him a mouthful!

"Hmph. There's no way you can win against Gatou."

Naruto growled, "Why you li-"

"Naruto!" Ino snapped at him.

The blond ninja snared at being reprimanded, but he still passionately declared that he was a super hero who'll become hokage and that Gatou had nothing on him! However Inari just snorted at his declaration and stated that there was no such things as heroes. Naruto really wanted to hit this boy, but kept himself back from being chided again. The boy then advised them to leave before heading to his room.

Ino inwardly groaned at having to protect an uncute kid like him, but it was her duty so she just sucked it up and rested for the day.

The next day, Naruto gave her a piggyback ride to a lake nearby. He set her down against a tree while Kakashi began explaining about being able to walk on water and how it's more difficult than walking on trees. He demonstrated it for Naruto to understand better.

The boys had seen it in action, but now that they are given a chance to see it properly, they were amazed.

"Hey Ino, can you do that, too?!" Naruto asked her excitedly.

She nodded. "You bet! I did teach you, too, about tree walking after all! So remember! This is about controlling how much chakra you exert, so you don't waste too much chakra!"

The boys nodded and they tried it for themselves, but they fell in at their second step. Sasuke lasted a bit longer, but even a genius like him needed to get a hang of it. Kakashi sat next to Ino and the two watch the boys try again and again.

For a conversation, Kakashi told her, "You were pretty brave yesterday, Ino. The three of you certainly showed that you will make fine ninjas someday."

Ino simply smiled at her progress. "It's mostly thanks to your training, Kakashi-sensei. You worked us to the bone to get us to be as good as we are now. I just wished that I could've been a bit more capable." She frowned at her bandaged legs.

Yet her sensei assured her, "Every battle comes with injuries and surprises. But if anyone has to be blamed, it's me. As your sensei, it's my job to make sure that you're prepared for the unexpected. Your chakra sensing abilities certainly showed itself. You were able to sense Zabuza's chakra even though he was placed in a state of momentary death. Only a true heiress of the Yamanaka clan could pull that off. You may surpass your father someday."

Ino blushed at the compliment, and thanked him bashfully, which Kakashi noted to be interesting for a girl as vain as the Yamanaka heiress. She then told him, "You know, I've been thinking about learning medical ninjutsu later, but after seeing what a real battle is like, it got me thinking that I should start so if any of you three got hurt, I could take care of you. I already know a lot about natural remedies and poisons, and my other clan abilities don't fit in this team that well."

"Now don't sell your clan's abilities short. We're still a relatively new team, and your mind transfer jutsu will be important if we're on an intel mission. After this is all over, we'll figure out a way to incorporate it more during training sessions since it looks like Naruto had finally caught up with the two of you."

They looked over to the boys who seemed to have formed a race of who could reach the other side of the lake and they'd restart every time they sunk into the water. Although, it appeared that they were getting the hang of it faster than they tried tree walking, that they were almost already at the other side without making a splash.

When they achieved that, Kakashi then had them train in combat on top of the water. That was far more difficult since they had to learn to shift how much chakra they used for each movement and jutsu they were about to perform along with the way the water moved. Their sensei had already helped them built up their stamina and endurance to last hours of training, but the extra weight from their damp clothes and consistent need to multitask definitely put a toll on their poor bodies that they spontaneously fainted into the water. Kakashi couldn't get them in his state, so before the training, he had Tazuna get two young men to get the boys before they drowned, and carry them back to the house to rest.

They woke up a few hours later to eat dinner fervently after all the chakra they released. Ino finished her meal first and then noticed Inari staring up at something. Getting some feeling back into her legs, she stood up. She wobbled a bit, which worried her teammates, but she reassured them that she was fine. Her legs ached a little but it wasn't too bad. She walked a bit around and then stopped at a picture to see that it was a family photo but a piece of it was torn. She asked about it to learn that the person torn out of it was Inari's step-father, Kaiza, who the grandfather called the hero of the village.

Inari had stepped out with his mother following after him. Once gone, Tazuna began explaining who he was and how he tried to save the Land of the Waves from Gatou, but only to be publicly executed in front of Inari. Since that day, the boy could no longer believe in heroes.

Ino was horrified that the boy had to see such a thing. She couldn't dare fathom what it would be like to go through the same thing.

Next thing she knew, Naruto was heading out to prove that heroes did exist. Of course, he was discouraged from doing water walking training since no one wanted to stay awake to save him from drowning, so the boy settled with doing basic ninja training till then.

Ino sighed at his endless energy. She truly wondered how he could have so much.

Before bed, Sasuke helped her change her bandages. She was relieved to see that the scarring wasn't too bad, and she could remove them once they got back home.

She then couldn't stop thinking about the story, "It's so sad to know that this village suffered because of one stupid magnate. That Gatou guy really did a number on this place. While you guys were training, Kakashi sent me to go watch over Tazuna. He got me a wheel chair, so I could follow him shop for dinner. I saw children left starving on the streets, and there wasn't much to buy at all at the markets. It made me feel more lucky than ever to be born in Konoha, but I hope that when that bridge is done getting built, everything will turn out better. So tomorrow, I'll definitely train with you and Naruto!" She declared happily. "So I can help Tazuna finish the bridge and reassure his men that they shouldn't be scared. That way everyone can have hope again, especially Inari. I can't imagine what he could be going through."

Sasuke remained silent as his horrid past flashed before his eyes. He controlled his growing hatred, and looked over to Ino who must've thinking about her father and the rest of her family. He thought to himself of how this could be over if they could kill Gatou so all the assassins would just disappear and the bridge could be finished faster. Of course, they had to know where he was first, and they could do that, but Sasuke didn't want to make this more complicated. Besides, his real target was that boy hiding behind the mask. He needed to surpass and kill him to know that he truly grown to be stronger as a ninja, so he could kill his true target.

"Sasuke?" Ino placed a hand on the ball of his shoulder, noticing how far gone he was in his thoughts. She apologized when he came back to the present, "I'm sorry. I said too much again."

The Uchiha quickly took in what happened. He reassured her, "It's alright. We need to rest for tomorrow. And let's hope that moron isn't dead by morning."

Ino was glad she didn't upset Sasuke since she figured she must've bought back a lot of unnecessary pain and memories. She simply looked forward to making things better.

._._._.

For the next few days, the three genins were training underneath the bridge while Tazuna worked. It was a more challenging area since the waves were rougher underneath and the water was much colder. Ino had caught up to the boys since she had been taught beforehand. Her legs had healed up and her quick speed returned to avoid Naruto's trickery and Sasuke's tactical skills.

Yet, she would only combat them for a bit before mostly focus on developing her chakra sensing skills to sense moving objects and holding a steady telepathic link. She would also practice her mind transfer jutsu on animals that she temporarily caught in the forest, trying to quicken her speed with it so she could use it on moving targets.

The three of them trained even throughout the night that Tazuna felt his age when even he took the graveyard shift. Kakashi had also been regaining his strength that he physically trained with the others but at a lesser but still pretty high level.

"Auuugh. My brain hurts." Ino moaned as she grabbed her head. The five of them were walking back home. "And seriously Naruto? Working yourself until _you're_ too tired to walk? What if an enemy appears now? How are you supposed to not hold us back?"

"Hey! I still have plenty of energy to walk! Just watch!"

"Now. Now." Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "We're all tired from training, but I'm sure after a good meal. We'll feel better."

"Is your strength improving, sensei?" Ino inquired.

"It is. Then that means Zabuza's strength is returning as well. He'll be coming soon, but after all the effort you three have instilled in your training, I'm sure that we'll able to stand our ground. But don't think we'll be as lucky as we were before. If things do come to worse, I except you to follow my orders. No questions asked."

"If it comes to that, then we don't deserve to be called ninjas." Sasuke commented grimly, yet smirked. "Heh. But you don't have to worry about me, Kakashi. I'll handle the masked boy on my own." The young ninja promised. Kakashi had realistic yet good expectations for him while Ino squealed like a fangirl.

But for Naruto, "What'dya mean on your own! I'm the one facing him!"

Ino growled at his attitude that ruined the mood. "Geeze, if you have enough energy to shout, you might as well walk the rest of the way by yourself!"

"Fine then! I ca-"

"Oh look, we're here." Kakashi nodded to the house.

Naruto still growled but let Sasuke help him into the home. They all settled peacefully at the table despite being all sweaty and dirty from the training that Ino planned out how she was going to thoroughly scrub herself so she doesn't get acne or any other disgusting blemishes.

Tsunami inquired about their day to make opening for conversations, and everything was going great until Inari suddenly claimed out of nowhere that they didn't have a chance against Gatou's men. Everyone was shocked by this sudden outburst except for Naruto surprisingly who passively dismissed him. Yet that passiveness only fueled the little boy's aggression that he wailed about Naruto not understanding hardships because he didn't suffer like he did. Ino wanted to smack this boy for claiming such a thing, even if the boy was already hurt. This was not the proper way to express his emotions.

Yet Naruto gave him the verbal slap he deserved before walking away.

"Naruto..." Ino watched him head out before following after him. "Oi, Naruto! I get that what he said was rude but you really took it a little too far!"

"Hmph!" Naruto looked away from her but his voice carried a heavy heart that Ino heard too many times from those softly suffering. "Kids like him...need to have someone be strict on him. Because...then you'll start to feel important." Naruto thought of Iruka-sensei and how at first, the teacher ignored him like the other teachers before taking him more seriously because he came to care about him.

Ino didn't completely understand Naruto, but she guessed Inari would as Naruto did for him. She simply accepted that she was an outsider of the situation, but she still let herself give a little. "You idiot. At least take these." She took out something that was wrapped and put it on his palm.

Naruto barely saw it by the dim light of the moon above them, but he did feel soft rounded things inside. "Hm? What's this?"

"They're military ration pills but a lot less strong so it'll only keep you up a few hours, so you won't end up overworking yourself that you end up sleeping in the forest again. We're here to protect Tazuna and his family. Not to train ourselves into a coma!"

Naruto stared at the gift, feeling his heart warm up. "Thanks Ino! You're definitely the best!"

"And don't you forget about it!" She sees him disappear into the dark forest, only to hear him hit a tree on the way by accident. Naruto then carefully walked through it to their usual training ground when they weren't stationed at the bridge by their sensei. She sighed at his hopelessness, but felt warmed and encouraged by his big heart.

._._._.

The next morning, Naruto had been able to come back to the house but flopped onto his futon as if he died. He remained sleeping like the dead who had their mouths left open, so they left him there to rest.

On their way, Ino stopped when she sensed a familiar chill. She whispered, "He's there at the bridge! And the masked boy is with him!"

Knowing this, they still moved forward. Tazuna remained close to Ino's side since she was the sensor. At the bridge, they found Tazuna's men heavily wounded but not near death.

A mist suddenly envelope them. His cold voice surrounded them, "Long time no see Kakashi. I see you're still with those brats and I see he's shaking. Poor kid."

Water clones of the devil appeared. One of them even appearing right at the center of them. Ino knew exactly where the real Zabuza was and he wasn't the one heading right at her.

Sasuke intervened, correcting the man happily, "I'm shaking from excitement!" He removed the water clones at a far greater speed than he did before. The real Zabuza appeared with the masked boy, taking note of Sasuke's improvement that him and Haku were rivals. Sasuke declared that he would face Haku, claiming that it was also because he hated guys who would try to trick him with such a stupid act and get out of it through using cliche' methods.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" Ino was touched by how much he cared! Kakashi felt an animated sweat drop by her reaction.

Then as if a gong rung, The two young male children engaged in what appeared to be a battle of speed between a kunai and a needle. Haku then suddenly did hand jutsus with one hand, which was never seen before by them. It turned out to be the trigger for the ice needles that rendered Ino unable to defend herself. Sasuke was able to dodge it with ease since he was prepared for such an attack.

"Heh. You're pretty slow." Sasuke appeared right behind Haku with a smug smirk. "From now on you'll be running away from my attacks."

The moves he exhibit were clever and powerful that Kakashi had to proudly gloat to Zabuza, "I can't have you underestimated my team by calling them 'brats'. Sasuke is Konoha's #1 rookie. Ino, here, lives up to be the heiress of a prestigious clan, and the other one is Naruto: Konoha's #1 loudest hyperactive show off."

Ino felt proud and strong by the introduction, yet that moment of foolish self esteem flattened when Zabuza chuckled suspiciously. The next thing she knew, Sasuke was ambushed by mirrors.

Haku impossibly entered one of them and multiple versions of him appeared in each of those mirrors. The needles thrown by all of them were real. It was just insane!

 _"Sasuke!"_ Ino cried out, putting up the telepathic link subconsciously.

Kakashi went to save him, but Zabuza stopped him. Ino took the initiative to save him instead. "Sorry Tazuna. I'm gonna have to leave you for a bit." She stepped away from her post to get Haku from behind by throwing several kunais, but Haku was able to quickly catch them in turns. Yet to his surprise, a shuriken was thrown at him and got him.

"Naruto Uzumaki has finally arrived!"

The #1 loudest ninja of Konoha announced along with a bunch of other heroic nonsense. Everyone was slightly impressed by his appearance at the right time but his loud mouth attitude failed the impression. And it only became worse when Naruto stupidly entered the mirror cage with Sasuke.

 _"NARUTO, YOU IDIOT!"_ Ino screeched at him mentally!

 _"OW! YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOUT THAT LOUD!"_

 _"She has every right to yell at you! If you're a shinobi, you'd be using your head! Why did you come inside of here! Dammit! I don't care anymore! You're a moron!"_ Sasuke had enough of this! He just concentrated on Haku, and tried to use his fire technique to destroy the mirrors, but his flames weren't strong enough. Naruto tried using his shadow clone technique to attack but Haku was just too fast as he slipped into different mirrors. Despite the discouraging, trapped situation, Naruto still wanted to fight for his dream, which triggered Haku to speak about his own.

Ino tried to help by using her sensing technique but then after hearing Haku's speech on dreams about becoming a true shinobi for someone else through killing them, she hesitated. She knew she shouldn't have, but she couldn't grasp the situation since it was too insane. It was just suicidal! This kind of love and loyalty...she saw the irony in her thinking it was unhealthy when that was what Konoha was made of: Suicidal loyalty.

Zabuza just added to the insanity by stating that a true shinobi needed to have blood on their hands to show that they are. Ino knew that she would have to kill her first person at some point, but things were getting too personal at this point. She didn't mind taking down Zabuza since he was a murderous monster who only served to kill even those who were innocent, but for Haku who showed to have such a beautiful heart, she didn't know if she had the heart to do it.

However, she didn't forget that her teammates were in trouble. She had to help them!

However, she found herself dizzy. She fell on her knees still awake but unable to properly focus.

"Ino!" Tazuna called out to her. He gasped when he saw a needle stuck to her back.

Kakashi couldn't believe it. _"What?! No!"_

Zabuza chuckled, "Don't worry about that little sensor of yours. It's a harmless drug that'll just leave her delirious until one of us is left in a pool of their own blood." It was set that the fight was going to just be between men.

Ino didn't understand what was happening or could properly think at all. But she could still feel everyone's chakra. She knew where everything that was alive were. She could feel their movement, their passion to live, and the emotions that overran their logic. The fishes and crabs and other wildlife was passing through the current of the water beneath them while she felt Sasuke's life deplete before her. She knew she had to do something, but her brain wouldn't tell her the answer of what that was. It was so frustrating that her body just reached her hand out to him.

"Sa...Sasuke..." Her conscious began to slip when a warm chakra filled her. It was so warm that it kept getting warmer and warmer. Her mind snapped awake against the drug in her body when that chakra was practically beginning to cook her from the inside. _"Wha-what is this chakra?! It's making it hard to breathe! It's burning me alive! Is this Haku's? No. He's there. So is Zabuza's and Kakakashi-sensei's. Sasuke is unconscious. But...where's Naruto?"_

The drug still left Ino weak, but she slowly but surely got back on her feet despite Tazuna's protests. She had to find Naruto! She couldn't sense him anywhere! She tried running but she quickly lost balance and slipped to the floor. She still dragged herself to where the dangerous chakra was within the mirror cage. It was where Naruto was so he had to be there. It was insane but she couldn't think straight.

However the dangerous flame she approached suddenly disappeared, and what was left was Naruto's chakra...

Ino thought she had imagined that...but it felt so real. That chakra...that rage...that anguish she had never felt so strongly before that it cooked her like a frog in a slowly heated pot, it was evil.

"There are people who make the mistake of not killing their enemy out of pity. Letting them leave with just their lives." She heard the masked boy say. "Can you understand the pain of not having a dream, not being needed by anyone. Just simply being alive."

Naruto roared, "What are you trying to say?"

"Zabuza has no reason to have a weak shinobi. You have take away my reason to leave."

"Why?! Why for a guy who take money from criminals?! Is that eyebrow-less mummy-looking freak that important to you?!"

Haku then delivered his past to them. About the hardships of being born with a destructive power that were used as tools in weapon, thus objectifying those people into things of hatred and fear. This causing the murders of his beloved parents and entering a cruel world of being someone unwanted. Because of this, Zabuza's need for him gave him so much happiness. He wished to protect this happiness through becoming the weapon Zabuza needed, but sadly, he couldn't fight his kind nature. Losing the reason to live, he pleaded to be killed.

Ino felt Naruto's hesitation but she also felt his empathy for Haku. "...If we'd met under different circumstances, we might've become friends." He moved swiftly across the heavy mist, yet when it dissipated, Haku blocked his attack and accepted another form of death.

Everyone gasped when they saw Kakashi's hand deep within Haku's heart, instantly killing him.

Ino was relieved to see that Naruto wasn't heavily damaged, but her heart was heavy when she saw Zabuza attempt to kill Kakashi through Haku. She saw Naruto leap for them. "Naruto!" The boy looked to her but guilt immediately showed on his face, yet his attention was once again drawn to Kakashi and Zabuza who engaged in combat again.

Ino had Tazuna help her get to Sasuke. There the man gasped at the sight of the boy, "It appears we're too late."

"No. He's just resting." Ino got beside Sasuke and she wasn't an expert on removing needles but she needed to at least be at his side to make sure he didn't die from blood loss. She then looked to the fight to see Gatou and his men intervening, the magnate stupidly revealing that he never planned to pay Zabuza which made this whole showdown pointless, so it came to an end to the fight that left the missing-nin practically armless.

It could've just been a simple fight, but Gatou made the mistake of disgracing Haku by hitting him when down as if he was a rag doll.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOIN'! YA BASTARD!" Naruto charged but Kakashi stopped him. This only pissed Naruto more off that he yelled to Zabuza, "SAY SOMETHING! WEREN'T YOU TWO FRIENDS!" The man simply dismissed him. "DON'T YOU FEEL ANYTHING! YOU TWO WERE ALWAYS TOGETHER, WEREN'T YOU!" Zabuza dismissed him again, stating that people were just objects to be used, so he didn't regret the situation. But Naruto didn't believe him. He still wanted to argue even when Kakashi told him to stand down since the fight was over. "SHUT UP! MY ENEMY IS STILL HIM! He-HE REALLY LOVED YOU! DO YOU REALLY FEEL NOTHING AT ALL! DO YOU REALLY...REALLY FEEL NOTHING AT ALL! If I were become as strong as you, would I become just like you? HE THREW HIS LIFE AWAY FOR YOU! WITHOUT HIS Own dream...to die as a tool! That's...just too sad."

Naruto cried as he prepared for disappointment but instead, what he received was what he hoped for. Zabuza for what may have been the first time, expressed true love for someone dear to him through his tears and trembling but strong words. "You may be right, kid...A shinobi is still human. We may not be able to become emotionless tools after all. I've lost..."

With those departing words of defeat, he requested for Naruto's kunai, which the boy delivered through the air. Therefore with just a small weapon between his teeth, he broke through the wall of bandits, delivering poetic justice by chopping off the head of a weak man hiding behind money.

Everyone stared as Zabuza fell to the ground. The once feared devil, finally meeting a helpless fate.

Just then, Sasuke woke up, seeing the back of Ino's head. "Ino?"

She turned her head quickly with distracted eyes spilling tears. She quickly recognized him and the situation. "Sasuke! You're awake! But don't move! The needles didn't hit your vital areas but you can still be in danger of internal bleeding." Sasuke heeded her words, but still asked for Naruto. She didn't know what to say, so she just told him, "I'll tell you later. Just know it's over with Zabuza, Haku and Gatou." She then quickly announced to Naruto that Sasuke was awake to help lighten the depressing mood.

Haku truly was kind.

Inari soon arrived with the villagers to run out he left over bandits. Naruto and Kakashi were successful in scaring them off.

Kakashi then approached Zabuza who requested to see Haku's face. As if being heard by the mist goddess herself, snow fell from the sky as if they were tears from Haku. Kakashi laid the man next to the kid who had so much life in him only to be ended short because of a misguided belief.

Within everyone's hearts, they hoped they departed to the same place that would be kind to them from now on.

._._._.

A few days later, everyone was healed up and the bridge was finished. Sasuke was given the details of what happened, which left heavy hearts, but they felt lifted when they held hope that they were happy wherever they were.

But as for the belief in shinobis being tools...

"A shinobi isn't supposed to pursue their own goals. Becoming the country's tool is the most important." Kakashi answered as they were giving their final goodbyes to Haku and Zabuza at their graves. "It's that same for Konoha."

Yet Naruto still challenged it. "Is that really what a shinobi truly about? You know what! I don't like it!"

Sasuke questioned their sensei if he believed it, and the sensei believed that it was a struggle that every ninja had to face. But as for Naruto, he was going to fight against that belief for the rest of his life and show that a shinobi can remain a human.

They soon departed afterwards with Inari and Naruto acting like fools with their goodbyes as they exited though the bridge that would be forever known as The Great Naruto Bridge.

But as nice as the moment was, Ino felt only concern. She stared at Naruto as the feeling of fire burning her from within was lingering in her body.

What was he?


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: OKAY, WARNING! MALE YAMANAKA OC X MADARA! You can just leave if you're not into OCs and stuff. There's gonna be a bunch of OCs.

So I've been speeding things up with Team 7's training what with making the tree climbing thing happen before the Wave country arc and making the water walking happen. I honestly feel like the only one who ever gave a damn about her team's potential was Kurenai. They got their scroll during the second part of the chuunin exams in **_DAY ONE_**. Her training them may have not been shown, but if you see from chapter 34, they weren't lazing around like Team 10 or 7. They were gasping for air from training so hard! And Kurenai made sure to do her best in building Hinata's confidence, otherwise she wouldn't have worked so well with Kiba and Shino. If Kakashi and Asuma actually gave more effort like she did, they would've been far more impressive. I know they're twelve, but kids in sports or put through military training are taken far more seriously and trained at their best than these _**ninjas**_.

Plus, I can't blame Kishimoto for putting out that whole shadow clone jutsu can double your experience kind of thing later since he was making things up as he went.

._._._.

After coming back from the Wave country, their lives turned back to normal where they were doing menial tasks again and doing Kakashi's harsh training. Their sensei took responsibility for their lack of preparedness for confined spaces. Their training for the last two months over the summer before the wave mission had consisted more of open spaces which allowed them more room to move, hide, plan, and use the impromptu tools around them. And thus they spent half a month in claustrophobic spaces like narrow mazes, iron cages, underground tunnels and rooms without a clear exit. They also had to try to dodge weapons that were actually tiny paintballs in disguise. Kakashi would fail them if they had paint mark in vital areas of their body. Team 7 were truly lucky that Haku was merciful, otherwise they all would've failed the mission without their lives.

The team also went through swimming, diving, and practice holding their breath training sessions in case they were to face someone who specialized in water jutsu again. Kakashi faced them one-on-one with his own water attacks. The team also traded being the target. They were each given their own project to create their own mission that center around a special attribute that they had.

They started with Ino who would use her mind transfer jutsu to take control of somebody who would hold an important scroll on them, provided by Kakashi. The goal was for Naruto and Sasuke to find the person. This led to many disastrous confrontations from Naruto on both people and animals, that Ino had to come in and beat some sense into him for assaulting an old lady. They were able to complete it the next day with Sasuke being able to find Ino, but said that it was due to recognizing her mannerisms, which made it not a actual accomplishment. Ino was swooned that he had been paying attention to her to the point that he could point out her little quirks.

Kakashi took the moment after the mission to praise and teach, "Nevertheless, good job, Sasuke. It's true that you have spent a significant amount of time with Ino to recognize her quirks, but it proves how observant you are, which is expected of a ninja. Of course, with Ino on our team, we won't necessarily have that trouble since she can sense our target's chakra. She had improved her scale to reach almost a 10 miles radius. Impressive."

"You bet!" Ino was really proud for how she doubled her range within the last three months. "I've been taking lessons at Konoha's hospital to finally use medical ninjutsu on my day offs and working on it at the morning and if I have enough energy after training, so my chakra control had improved a lot and helped me widened my distance." She didn't plan on working that hard but that was how much of a motivation her teammates were. She couldn't fall behind!

"Then can you heal me?" Naruto asked. He got beaten up again for thinking a cat was her, which got him not only scratched up by the cat but also its owner.

"You'll heal." Ino cruelly left him in his pain.

Kakashi moved on with the lesson, "Naruto, it looks like you've been improving your use of the shadow clones, but it looks like you don't realize the opportunity you had during this mission." He said but deep down was glad that Naruto didn't use it because that would've caused even more problems. The sensei then went on to explain the other effects of the shadow clone where Naruto would gain their experience. He never noticed since he only used it to create barrage attacks. But then of course, to use such a technique during missions or training needed a ton of chakra, which was something Naruto had.

That made Ino ask, "Now that you mention it, Naruto's chakra barely ever drops, he heals faster than the normal ninja without medical ninjutsu, and it just unnaturally restores itself no matter how hard you train us. I've been curious about that. Could it be a kekkei genkai, you have?" She looked to Naruto who lit up by the thought.

"Me? I have a kekkei genkai?!" Naruto's half healed body held eyes sparkling at their sensei a little too intensely.

Kakashi chuckled as he answered, "I guess you could say its a kekkei genkai. It's actually because your a descendant of the Uzumaki clan."

"Uzumaki clan?" All three children's attention perked at this. They never heard of this clan.

Their sensei nodded, "The Uzumaki clan was one of the first clans to join an alliance with the Senju clan: the clan responsible for the creation of Konoha. It used to consist of members who were born with incredibly strong life forces that grant them tremendous stamina and vitality. In fact, our first hokage was married to a member of the Uzumaki clan." The kids were at awe by this. Who knew Naruto was actually blood related to some important folks. Their sensei then went on to explain how the clan resided in what was Uzushiogakure, but due to the war and people fearing them, they disbanded to different regions.

"Seriously!" Naruto was surprised to know he actually had some family members after all.

"Tremendous stamina and vitality? That explains Naruto's endless antics and loud mouth." Ino commented. Naruto was too focused by finding out more of his own personal heritage than to feel insulted.

"Not only that," Their sensei added, "but it explains why our Naruto here can heal faster than the rest of us. He might also outlive the rest of us due to that strong life force of his."

"Naruto outliving the rest of us?" Ino was somewhat impressed, but if Naruto remained who he was, it wasn't something to be amazed by. "Only if he stops being such a doofus, maybe."

Now that grabbed the boy's attention, "Hey! I'm not a doofus! Just watch! I'm totally gonna outlive the rest of ya! Believe it! I'm gonna become the greatest hokage who'll outlive even that old man!" He referred to the third.

"Yeah, in a coma if you're not careful." Sasuke coolly teased, having Ino threatening to beat Naruto if he tried to get physical.

Ino then returned the focus to the problem. "If that's true sensei, that Naruto has boundless chakra because of his Uzumaki roots, then does that mean that his chakra can turn hostile if he exerts too much of it? His chakra actually made me feel like he was burning me from the inside."

"What?" Naruto's face fell because it was the first for him to hear how he unintentionally harmed Ino.

"I'm fine now," She reassured him, "But it was terrifying. I guess it goes to show that everyone does have a different type of chakra. Zabuza's own was chilling." She shuddered at the memory.

"Mmm." Naruto frowned at the idea that he actually harmed Ino with his chakra alone. Sasuke noticed his reaction, but he didn't say a word.

Kakashi seemed to have noticed as well. "It's true that a shinobi's chakra can be shaped by who he is and the shinobi he'll become, and what Naruto went through would make anyone become hostile. But he did control himself. Good job, Naruto. You've shown to be able to keep a cool head even at the most stressful of situations like losing a teammate. That's something to be admired, right Sasuke?"

The emo kid blushed by being called out since Naruto fought for his sake. He looked away, trying to remain cool. "Whatever. He's still a dweeb."

"Say that to my face, you pompous jerk!"

"Knock it off, you two!" Ino yelled at the both of them, and thanked their sensei for clearing things up.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask, but his thoughts were different, _"So she did sense the nine tails chakra awakening within Naruto. I hoped that she didn't, but it was foolish of me to doubt Ino's strong will and gift."_ He dismissed them for the day.

Naruto left really happy. "Heh, heh, heh! I'm from a clan! A clan like you guys! And I might also hve family members out there! Can you believe it?!"

Ino smiled for him, "That's great, Naruto! Maybe we'll meet one of them when we go out on another mission outside the village."

"You think so!"

"Yeah, if you don't assault everyone along the way." Ino teased, getting a snort from Sasuke. He quickly cleared his throat and looked away. Ino felt her stomach flutter at his cute side. Naruto got mad, but he was too happy to stay that way.

._._._.

It was Sasuke's turn to make up a mission. He figured that he would center it around his fire jutsus since them facing a member of the Uchiha clan was pretty much zilch. He decided to make Naruto and Ino use their abilities to track him down in the forest. He had Kakashi help him create little pockets of his chakra that were tied to shadow clones, so that Ino couldn't easily find him. When they did find him, they were actually going to do the bell training with him. This angered Naruto who reluctantly went along with it. Him and Ino faced Sasuke off together, and the Uchiha proved to be able to handle them both.

"Dammit!" Naruto yelled. "I'll beat you and take those bells away!" He made multiple shadow clones appear.

Ino stepped back, taking in the situation. She had let Sasuke do most of the planning in the team that it was no wonder he had better tactics. But she was just as good. She didn't graduate at the top of her class out of privilege.

"Naruto!" She entered into the fight again. Sasuke fended of their attacks and used his fire attacks to draw them away, but he wasn't prepared for the explosion tag Ino threw into the flame, which threw them both back.

Naruto's clones appeared above Sasuke. He was caught off guard for a second before he took action in the air to fend them off from the bells. Yet to his surprise, a bird swooped down and caught them with its mouth.

The bird flew to Naruto who was holding the unconscious Ino in his arms. Ino woke up and the two took their bells.

"Hahahaha! I beat Sasuke! I beat Sasuke!"

"We beat him and it was only to steal these bells. Not a one-on-one fight." Ino reminded him, but Naruto still gloated.

Kakashi appeared. "Good job, you two. Not only were you able to put your tracking skills to good work, but you were also to use Sasuke's fire jutsu against him as a distraction to your real plan. You're mind transfer technique has improved great, Ino. You were able to possess a bird as you flew into the sky. You did exceptionally well Naruto with how you worked well with her plan. Right, Sasuke."

Their cool teammate looked disinterested at first, but he smirked proudly at them. The two blondes grinned proudly.

"Man! I wish that I could blow fire from my mouth! Hey! Hey! Sensei, do you think I can do it!" Naruto asked excitedly.

"That's up to what nature is your chakra."

"Huh?! What do you mean?"

"I guess it is a good time for a new lesson. I was planning to hold it off until you guys have trained a bit more, but I supposed it's fine to tell you now. I believe Iruka-sensei had taught you about nature manipulation chakra."

Ino nodded as she began to explain to Naruto about the five different natures that ninjas could manipulate: Fire, wind, water, lightning, and earth. The great five nations were named after these elements and served as the basis for all ninjutsu. Everyone had different types of chakra that were more suited for one element over the other.

Kakashi added how Sasuke was suited for fire element jutsus since his clan consisted of fire chakra users. The sensei's own shadow clone suddenly arrived and gave him some paper that were made by a special tree that was fed and raised on chakra.

"If you're lightning, the paper will crumple. For wind natured, it gets sliced. For fire, it burns. For water, it gets wet. For earth, it crumbles." He made his own crumple which showed that he was suited for lightning element jutsus. He gave one to Sasuke who made it burned, which proved that he was suited for fire element jutsus.

Naruto and Ino were given one. The two felt nervous, and they put their chakra into it. Naruto's own sliced apart. Ino's own crumbled away.

"Whoa! I'm a wind chakra user!"

"Huh. I'm an earth chakra user."

"Maybe that's why your family owns a flower shop since flowers grow from the earth." Naruto figured, and Ino thought that was pretty corny, but it was fitting.

Kakashi let them do what they wished with their new knowledge. He knew jutsus of their own elements, but he wanted them to focus more on honing the abilities they had right now. He then dismissed them.

Naruto was feeling really good! "I'm from a clan and my chakra is a wind user! Hey! Ino, wanna go eat at Ichiraku's today!"

"Sorry, I gotta go to the hospital. I think I'm making a breakthrough with my healing technique. You guys have no idea how hard it is! They have me trying to revive an octopus who has one of the most complicated anatomies! I don't know how many times I got ink splattered on my face! My dad has also been on my case about it."

"Huh, why?"

"Because he wants me to concentrate more on learning the Yamanaka techniques since I'm still the heiress, and I wanna learn, but I want to do this, y'know. You can heal Naruto, but if Sasuke actually ever gets hurt, I want to be able to help you." Ino smiled at the boy who didn't say anything to that. "My dad has been trying to get a day off from work that matches mine, but like always, it's busy at Intelligence division, and they only grant him day offs to teach Inoni since she's the one carry on the tradition after all."

"So you're saying that Inoni is getting better at something than you for once?" Naruto inquired. Inoni was almost as much as a troublemaker as him. They actually hung out a few times as kids but that resulted in a lot of roughhousing and yelling.

"I guess. She can do our clan techniques if she tries. Her and I already do them naturally since we're twins. We can telepathically connect no matter how far we are from each other. We feel what the other feels if we want to and share our dreams. I guess you can say we're never truly apart."

"Sheesh, that sounds like hell." Naruto can't see the positive in that.

Ino shrugged "Inoni can be a handful, but deep down she's very caring. She just has a hard time trusting people since Sakura and I split our friendship. I think she took it harder than me since she felt what I felt that day. She's so overprotective."

"If you say so, I guess Inoni could be a good person. How's her team doing anyway?" Naruto wanted to know since he also played with Shikamaru and Choji back then, too.

"Pretty good. Inoni tells me that their sensei, Asuma Sarutobi, is a heavy smoker and way too relax. He also plays favorites with Shikamaru and has a crush on Kiba's sensei. She tolerates him since he isn't pushy, but she's also mad that he isn't pushy. She feels so stifled with having to do go through with the tradition, but she was the first born."

"Well, I'm glad that she went on that team because I like having you on mine, Ino." Naruto complimented without thinking, but it was true.

Ino blushed, smiling at him. "I feel the same." The three of them reached the hospital. "Thanks for walking me. See you guys tomorrow."

"See you!" Naruto waved happily.

"See you." Sasuke simply said, and they split apart.

The next day, team 7 were doing their menial tasks like usual until Asuma with Shikamaru and Choji approached them.

"Asuma. What brings you here?" Kakashi casually asked, though could tell by the troubled face on the smoker that it had to do with a certain missing somebody.

"Ah, sorry to intrude," He spoke a bit more politely than he would. "But Ino, you haven't happen to know where your bro- I mean sister is by any chance."

Shikamaru laid it straight, "Asuma sensei and Inoni got into a big argument yesterday, and Inoni hadn't showed up. She's not in the flower shop or any of her usual spots either."

Choji frowned as he ate, "I'm worried. Inoni doesn't usually hide this well unless she's really mad."

"Hey, hey, I only asked her be a bit more...womanly."

All the children stared at him in disappointment. Kakashi was confused, "Excuse me, but what is the problem here? Isn't Inoni your twin sister, Ino?"

"Yeah, but she's the complete opposite. Seriously, Asuma-sensei! Why don't you tell her to start liking guys, too! How insensitive can you be!" The kids began glaring at him.

"I didn't mean to insult her! I just wanted her to be a bit softer."

"You mean make your job easier." Naruto crossed his arms, giving the man a dirty glare.

Shikamaru sighed, "What a drag. Ino, can you please find Inoni? I don't think your parents know she's gone, and it'll be too much of a drag to bring the other adults into this." Especially since Asuma was the third's son.

Ino looked to Kakashi who said, "I'm sure wherever your sister is, she'll be fine, but we will find her and let you know after we're finish with our missions for today."

"What?!" Naruto whined, "But it's my turn to make a mission!" Kakashi promised him that they could do it the day after, much to the boy's disappointment.

Ino agreed with her sensei. "Inoni is reckless but she isn't stupid. I'll let you guys know as soon as possible. Take the time to think over your actions, Asuma-sensei!" She ordered.

"Looks like I have no choice." The man still didn't understand why he was the bad guy, and Kakashi somewhat did, but to get the same reaction out of the kids made him think there must be more to this.

After team 7 was done with their missions, Ino told Kakashi that he couldn't come since Inoni knew he was close with Asuma. Their sensei understood so he dismissed training for the day and excused himself. Asuma was going to need a drinking buddy anyway.

With that, the three genins set off to find Inoni.

"So did you actually know where your sister was this whole time?" Naruto asked as they entered the Yamanaka clan's own mountain.

"Yeah. My sister was really mad yesterday that she locked herself in her room the whole night without dinner. She does that and then heads over to our grandpa's house."

"Grandpa's house?"

"Well, he's actually our great-great-great grandpa. He was actually around when Konoha was being built, so he's over a hundred."

This greatly surprised her teammates.

"No way! Is he stuck in a wheel chair and can only eat noodles now?! He must be the oldest person alive!"

Ino half-smiled at him, "Oh he is. The oldest person alive that is. A group of researchers from years ago were trying to find the oldest person alive. My grandpa is actually the only person alive whose age is over a hundred. As for whether he's in a wheelchair, you're just going to have to see for yourself, but be prepared. My grandpa is not what you may think."

That only raised question marks. As they walked further in, they found Shikamaru and Choji on the way. It turned out that they also already knew where Inoni was, and they kept it a secret since they didn't want to risk Asuma catching Inoni in a bad mood. The five of them continued to hike up the mountain. They caught up on how their training and missions were going.

Apparently, Asuma was a good teacher. He knew well on how to perfect their teamwork and it was really up to them to evolve it since it was their group. The Sarutobi family was only there to act as a guidance. However, the problems were just Inoni. She was far too aggressive and sometimes too cruel for Asuma to properly handle. She would fall out of line if she just wanted to get things done quick, and she was too hard headed to reason with. No one was surprised since Inoni had always been like that.

"Geeze, you'd think she'd grow up after being put into a team!" Naruto complained. The group suddenly heard heavy stomping heading their way but it echoed throughout the forest, and it hit Naruto right smack on his bottom. "AAAAAAH!"

Inoni appeared from a tree branch and whistled for the huge boar to come to her. It amazed Naruto and Sasuke at how it could walk on trees too."That's like a monkey calling the other hairy." The Yamanaka tomboy half heatedly glared at Naruto, then looked to the others. "Anyway, c'mon. Great-san got food on the table." Her and her boar jumped through the tree branches.

"FOOD!" Choji ran with a speed of a cheetah.

"Great-san?" Naruto got up, rubbing his sore bottom.

"It's what she calls our grandpa. He's the only one Inoni actually respects." The four of them went further into the forest to find what appeared to be a garden with food and bushes acting as the walls and pieces of furniture for a home. At the center was a broad tree stump that held practically thirty or fifty dishes of food.

"WHOA!" Naruto took his seat and began chowing down with Choji and Inoni who ate like animals. "It's delicious!"

Sasuke looked around the place. It looked like they entered a huge bird cage by how the thin metal that shaped the place and had vines decorate it with flowers so not too much sunlight poured in. Flowers did take over plenty of the decorations, but there was enough air flow so the floral scent didn't overtake their nose and they could smell the food. As pretty as this place was, he didn't see Ino's old relative or could sense any presence either.

Until a light voice was heard, "Oh, how nice of you to visit me." The boys felt goosebumps when they realize that the old man was there, but had blended into the scenery due to how thin he was. He wasn't all skin and bones, but his height of over six feet tall made him look pretty lean. And despite being over a hundred, he walked healthily with blue eyes still shining with awareness and the skin of his body wasn't too droopy. His silver braided hair was impressively long that some of it laid on the floor.

"Grandpa!" Ino greeted excitedly, hugging her grandpa without restraint.

The man hugged her back just as hard. "Oh my little blossoming bush clover! How have you been!"

"Great! My medical ninjutsu is improving! It's all thanks to your advice! Grandpa, I'd like you to meet my teammates. This is Sasuke and Naruto!" She gestured her hand to them.

The old man flashed them a welcoming smile. "Nice to meet you gentlemen. I am Inoma Yamanaka. I've heard plenty of you from my granddaughter. I figured that since Inoni was here that you all won't be far behind so I made sure to make a feast while I entertain you."

"Please don't tell me ya gonna give us de tale." Inoni groaned, getting a stern, demonic-looking glare that got her to shut her mouth.

The man then smiled like an angel. "Sasuke. Naruto. Do you guys know the tale of how the shinobi world began?"

Naruto had no clue while Sasuke had some of it. "It was created by a sage of the six paths. Hagoromo, I believe was his name. He was the creator of ninjutsu."

"It was actually called ninshuu and it was supposed to be used for peace. Our ancestor, Inoshishi, was his number one disciple."

"Your ancestor was literally named boar?!" Naruto literally wondered about why a family would name themselves after a pig!

The grandpa chuckled, "I never met her, but from the word of mouth throughout our generations, I was told that she was quite the beauty back then despite her name. The tale goes was that she became a disciple of Hagoromo because she once saw him revive a flower that wilted and dried away. Under his tutelage, she created the Yamanaka's famed techniques such as the mind transfer justsu. That justsu was actually created not to possess people for spy operations." That surprised the boys that it amused the grandpa. "It was just so she could efficiently herd the farm animals. The Inoshikacho was created for that sake."

"Are you serious! You're all just farmers!"

Choji let Naruto know, "Since times have changed, our techniques became more weaponized to help support the village. But the Akimichi clan still owns most of one of the largest agriculture industries and a chain of successful restaurants to boot. Shikamaru's clan owns the part of the industry that creates most of the medical supplies that's distributed in the hospitals. A lot of them work part time at hospitals since the shadow possession jutsu can help keep patients still to prevent accidents. But it's difficult for them to become medical ninjas since their jutsu center around yin release while medical ninjutsu centers around yang release."

Naruto was honestly surprised, "Wow, you said a mouthful there, Choji. I thought you didn't know this stuff like I did."

Choji wasn't insulted as he munched on his meat first before talking, "I only know this stuff since my dad makes me learn it."

Ino added, "The Yamanaka clan owns only the flower shop with garden attractions, but we help each other out to keep the industry running and no shady deals are being made. That's why we know so much about politics and the economy. But business aside, the Yamanaka clan mostly works for the village's analysis team since we also specialize in breaking through genjutsu. My dad is head of the team."

Inoni whined, "And that's what I wanna be! I should be practicing breaking into people's minds. Not breaking through both of your lazy streaks!" She growled at Shikamaru and Choji who just continued to eat peacefully. "I'm tired of being the leader! You're the ones with brains, YOU DAMN LAZY DEER!"

Naruto nearly choked on his pork. "You're the leader?!"

Shikamaru sighed, "What a drag."

Choji explained, "Inoni isn't the easiest person to get along with but she's a natural on the field. While Shikamaru is a strategist, Inoni is a tactician."

"What's the difference?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke answered, "A tactician focuses on how to achieve a specific goal while a strategist thinks about how to achieve multiple goals to achieve his ultimate goal, so for example, during a mission, you face an enemy." He spoke slowly for Naruto to imagine the situation in his head. "For Inoni, she'll figure out a way to just beat the enemy. A simple quick plan. But as for Shikamaru, he deduces who the enemy is. If the enemy happened to belong to a group of rogues, he'll think of a more complicated plan."

"Why do that?"

Ino answered, "Because you might get more of an award out of it. What if Inoni beat the guy, but this upsets the rogues to come after them and kill them without restraint. But if Shikamaru givers her the goal to simply capture the enemy, then she can do that with her tactical mind, and if they will do that, then they could use the captured enemy for a variety of things that'll keep the group of rogues at bay so they can survive the mission."

"Oh! Like if you want to eat eggs for breakfast or not! You can either eat them now boiled, or buy some food to make tasty ramen for dinner or even a salad maybe!"

"Salad?" Inoni arched an eyebrow at this. If the word salad was coming out of ramen boy than her sister must be a cuplrit for it. Anyway, his example was stupid but it worked. She looked over to her Great-san to see the old man smiling like he was having fun as Naruto began yelling Sasuke because he obviously thought it was stupid, too. Ino was yelling at Naruto to behave, which got the boy to behave.

Then Naruto asked, "Hey, Ino told me you were around when Konoha was being built. So you knew the Uzumaki clan right? Right?!"

The old man's eyes lit up. "Knew the clan?! I was best friends with Mito Uzumaki! The first hokage's wife! She was a real dignified lady. Gentle and reassuring, but like any Uzumaki, loved going out and having fun! We'd secretly put on disguises and slip out of the village for exploration. We'd run out outsiders from our borders, save travelers and find hidden treasures!"

"Seriously?!" Naruto was truly beaming.

"Oh yeah! Hashirama got upset when he knew about us having fun without him, but pffbt. It's his fault for becoming hokage." The old man began to sound more like a teenager, but it wasn't weird. His relaxed yet vibrant charisma and mannerisms made it look like he wasn't over a hundred.

"Was the first hokage truly as strong as the stories say? That he was the god of Shinobi?" Sasuke inquired.

Inoma hummed to that and sipped his tea. "He was quite the powerful ninja, but I personally wouldn't call him a god. Ha! He was just a kid in a grown man's body with power he didn't know how to handle and a brother stuck in a world of superstition." His eyes looked down with a smile that held of an unspoken sadness.

"By brother, you mean the second hokage." Sasuke clarified.

Those words seemed to trigger the man to hold back a sadistic chuckle and settle with a loser's half smile. That triggered his granddaughters to place a comforting hand on him. "He was never suited to be hokage, but I relinquished any involvement with Hashirama by then, and stopped being a shinobi."

Naruto and Sasuke gasped. That stopped Shikamaru and even Choji from eating.

"You're not a shinobi?" Naruto knew some ninjas retiring from it, but to add that it personally involved the first hokage, it must've been for a heavy reason that someone from a loyal, prestigious clan would give up being a shinobi. It was like almost giving up their entire identity.

The old man sighed, placing his chin on his hand. "I didn't mean to bring down the mood but thinking about those troublesome Senju brothers have always given a heavy heart. I'll tell you the tale another time."

"Oh..." Naruto frowned, but then tried to find a positive, "But you can still use your Yamanaka techniques, right? That's how you're able to help Ino and Inoni with their training."

"Oh not at all! I don't have chakra either!"

"WHAT?!"

Inoma stood up. "It'll be clear if you come with me." All off the kids followed him out of the makeshift home and down a path that took thirty minutes to reach. They entered a dark cave where dandelions suddenly glowed up and scattered so they could have sight. Naruto tried to touch one, but they moved out of the way.

At the end of the tunnel, they came across a room that was lit up by what seemed like feathery needle things stuck to the wall. At the center of the room was a crystal pillar that reached the ceiling. When they got closer, they saw what looked like the carving of the upper part of a beautiful woman with hair that reached her upper thighs. Her hands were covering her chest.

"Whoa. Who is she?" Naruto thought he almost fell in love again.

Inoma answered, "That's me."

"WHAT?!" Naruto's jaw dropped. AGAIN was his thoughts.

Inoni explained, "The Yamanaka feminine genes are strong. Dad wasn't girly looking but was a knockout with the ladies back then like how miss teen idol here is." She pointed her thumb at Ino who lightly glared at her for the tone but wasn't insulted. "Great-san was deemed to be the most gorgeous woman who was unfortunately a man back in the day."

Inoma couldn't help mirthfully saying, "It would upset a lot of men on my journey."

"Tell me about it." Naruto sighed in disappointment. The world was just not fair.

The old man then approached the crystal. "In here lies my chakra that I had Mito help extract from me and seal away into this crystal. The chakra is still alive and growing inside it that it seeps through this mountain, making it still at full blown like spring every year."

"But you can take it back, right?" Naruto asked hopefully. "I mean, after being not a shinobi for so long, you can become one again, right? You can still turn into one."

Inoma looked surprised by the eagerness in the boy's voice, and he smiled for him. Petting the boy's head. "Of course, but there's no need for me to be a shinobi. I am a man from the past, and you kids are the present. I will give you advice and teach you what you would like to know. That's what the old people should do anyway so you'll have a chance to blossom as true shinobi." Naruto still frowned since he wanted to take away any trauma that Inoma went through to quit being a shinobi for over half a century. But even he understood that he was just a kid who didn't know enough to be convincing. Inoma's eyes turned loving for the small boy. He looked to Inoni, "Are you done sulking?"

Inoni crossed her arms, huffing, "Sure. You're tea relaxed my nerves so I'll **delicately** try not to tear sensei-McSmoky's pride to shreds when we _talk_." She didn't sound too convincing but Asuma's a big guy. He could handle it.

After that, the old man packed them some food and tea to have for later at home. Sasuke and Naruto looked like they still had questions but they were too shy to ask them in front of everyone. The two teams departed on different ways.

"Are they really alright?" Naruto asked Ino.

"Don't worry about it. We grew up together, so whatever happens we'll help each other out."

Naruto smiled at that. It was nice that a tradition that forces their first borns together despite their opposite personalities were able to always get along and stay strong together. "Like us right? We're like that."

"Huh." Ino didn't see how Naruto was related to the clan traditions, but then realized he meant family-wise. "Well, it was true we started out on bad terms." She still hadn't forgotten how he abandoned her on their first real shinobi test together. "But you're like a little brother to me, and I know you'll always have my back from now on. I think grandpa really like you."

"Really?!" Naruto was happy by that because Inoma was really cool!

Ino nodded. "Yup! And you, too, Sasuke. Naruto and I have been able to face Kakashi's grueling training sessions thanks to your leadership. As expected of the genius! And I also know that we can always count on you to watch our backs and we'll do the same. Right Naruto."

Naruto grimaced as he reluctantly admitted, "I guess, but it doesn't mean I like you! Just watch! I'll get even stronger and smarter than you and I'll be the one running this team!"

Ino sighed at his usual tsundere attitude. "If you're going to get smarter than you better think of a better jutsu than the 'sexy jutsu'."

"Hey! Don't look down at the sexy jutsu! It doesn't work on you cuz you're a girl! But I bet if I did a sexy jutsu of a guy, you'd lose your mind, too!"

"I'll be losing my mind over how stupid you are! Are you calling me a perve, you perverted nitwit!" She began head locking him. "Like hell a sexy naked man popping out of nowhere will make me react like all those other perves you used it on! Any proper lady would scream!"

Sasuke didn't see that he had any business here so he walked away. Ino stopped choking Naruto to yell out, "See you tomorrow, Sasuke! We had a lot of fun today!"

The boy just rose a hand as a goodbye, making Ino swoon over his coolness. She let Naruto go. "Bye Naruto! See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah...bye." he just lied on the ground, thinking how frightening it was easy for her to switch from violent mode to friendly mode.

Later that night, team 7 was left wide awake. They had busied themselves with other things like training, shopping, and getting prepared for tomorrow, but now that the moon rose high and all was silent in their rooms, they couldn't stop thinking about today.

At Sasuke's home, he lied on his bed with his head turned towards the picture of his team. For the last three months since he had become a genin, he had not thought much of his teamwork. He just thought that he was getting stronger. What Kakashi had taught him recently would've definitely helped him face Haku even with Naruto made into an obstacle and Ino was incapable of using her abilities. He definitely felt stronger, but the emotions that came with it made him feel conflicted.

Itachi's words echoed throughout his body. _"You can awaken the mangekyou sharigan like me. However, there is a requirement. **You must kill your closest friend.** It would be worthless to kill someone like you. My foolish brother... If you want to kill me, then hate me with all your might. And live a long and unsightly life. Run away...run away and cling to your pitiful life. And some day when you have the same eyes as me, stand before me."_

Sasuke didn't believe that he could ever have friends at all. Everyone before him was an alien to him after what he went through, so he didn't believe that he could ever truly form bonds like those.

But after meeting Inoma who gave up being a shinobi because of past pains from the first hokage who she was close to, it made him think about his desire to become a shinobi, and that led to these swirling dark thoughts.

 _ **"You must kill your closest friend."**_

Sasuke immediately thought about his team. Naruto specifically. The slight pain and confusion in his voice when he discovered Inoma's abandonment for the shinobi life made him self aware of his and Naruto's orphan status. Becoming a ninja was all there really was as an option. A lot of the stores were run by families so nepotism came first while the ninja life granted opportunities to anyone.

He reluctantly began thinking of how much fun it was to be rivals with Naruto. He may not be at his level, but Sasuke knew there was potential under there. There was a power that was yet to truly be unleashed, and he felt excited to face that Naruto someday. But killing him was the last of his thoughts. He just wanted to spar. To know his limits and fight again another day. He...didn't want this to end.

 _"Sasuke,"_ He heard Ino's voice in his head. During one of their training sessions, his teammate was looking at him expectantly. He was expecting a flirt, but instead, he was surprisingly told, _"You actually like Naruto, don't you."_ She smiled at him knowingly, which was annoying. _"Naruto really looks up to you like an older twin brother, I guess. He likes to act like he doesn't care about you, but anyone can tell that deep down, he really does. And you're the same, aren't you, Sasuke. Admiring his effort that is. I'm glad we're all friends."_ Sasuke didn't respond, but he noticed the way she looked satisfied by that.

He then remembered shortly of a girl trying to give him a sunflower. _"Sasuke...Here. I want to give this to you to brighten your day."_

Of course he ignored it since he had no use for flowers, but it made him realize that his childhood, despite the trauma, there was still people present in his life. Naruto was his rival. Ino was the girl who worried for him. And recently, Kakashi had also filled a part of his life that...Itachi used to fill.

He was...happy.

He walked out of his home for air, but cursedly on his way, he ran into Ino.

"Oh, Sasuke. You can't sleep either, huh. I'm used to knowing my grandpa isn't a shinobi anymore, but I couldn't help worrying about Naruto."

"Naruto?"

"Yeah. He seemed so down earlier, and I was wondering if he was okay. I didn't want to bug him with my telepathy, so I was walking over. Wanna come?"

Sasuke was going to decline because he didn't want to get anymore deeper into this friendship. They were supposed to be just comrades. They shouldn't go as far as walk through the middle of the night that only had a few stores open just to see if another team member was emotionally okay. Shinobi should work out their feelings on their own or bottle it up and turn it into motivation.

However, Ino already grabbed his wrist, and they were already just a few buildings away. She knocked on the door, and Naruto opened it. It was obvious that he was going to bed but he was wide awake.

"You guys? What are you doing here?"

Ino explained, "I couldn't help worrying about you. You seemed bummed about my grandpa's quit on being a shinobi, and we just went through a pretty heavy mission a few weeks ago. Also, I could tell that you guys still had load of questions you wanted to ask that it made me anxious. Maybe I can help answer for you guys."

Naruto and Sasuke really did want some questions answered.

"Really? But it's pretty late."

"Kakashi-sensei is always three hours late at minimum, so we can spare a few hours awake. If we come late, we can just blame his bad influence." Ino dismissed the punctuality rule of the shinobi as if it was nothing. She made her way into the place and Sasuke followed.

The three of them got comfortable at Naruto's room that was only a little dirty. He's been trying to keep things relatively clean in case Ino popped up. It was the first time for Sasuke to come into the place, and it was what he expected the loudmouth's place to look like.

Ino then started, "So what do you guys want to know?"

"Uhm," Naruto went first, "why did your grandpa decide to quit being a shinobi? I mean I just don't understand! Once a shinobi, you'll always be a shinobi! He's also perfectly healthy, so I don't see what the first hokage could do that was so bad for him to quit."

"I figured that would be your question, and I'll warn you that I don't know the intimate details. Just what my grandpa was willing to tell me." Ino then dropped a bomb on them, "The story starts with my grandpa having a boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" The boys arched an eyebrow and by how Ino nodded with a smile, they were shocked! "YOUR GRANDPA IS A HOMO! BU-But he's your grandpa."

"It's not expected for the heir or heiress of the Yamanaka family to marry the one who'll provide them a first born. It's a common practice in the Inoshikacho clans that if one of us heirs impregnated someone or got pregnant, then we'll just have to pick and choose a candidate to help fill that role. Some of us luck out with finding our soulmate while some of us don't. My mom isn't my birth mom. My birth mom actually lives at another country with her own family. We visit her once a year to catch up."

"Wow...But wait, then doesn't that mean it's okay for you to date Sasuke?" Naruto pointed at the boy who ordered him to not giver her any ideas.

Ino answered, "Like I explained to you Naruto, it's a matter of image and traditions, so no, we can't. But that didn't stop my grandpa. His male lover was actually from the Uchiha clan."

"I knew it! The clan is filled with homos!"

BAM! BAM!

Naruto got rightfully hit on the head for that comment. It's not polite to say that in a negative context or assume another person's sexuality in that negative context.

"As I was saying," The girl grounded out behind her teeth. "I don't actually know his name, and grandpa told me that he can't tell me because there's still so much denial and misunderstanding in the world that the history books and so-called legends are not the whole truth. All I can tell you is that he was a powerful shinobi as expected from a member of the Uchiha clan. He was actually really scary looking that kids cried even when he was kind. Grandpa fell in love with practically everything about him. Even the traits that annoyed him. And the Uchiha guy fell in love back, but things were becoming bitter because of the Second. That guy really didn't like the Uchiha guy that he thought that for the sake of the village, he sent my grandpa away from the village on missions that would take months to get back. Of course, the Uchiha guy would come with him without permission, so the second gave him a mission that would split them up for a year. By then the new generation of the inoshikacho team was ready, so it was easier for the second to get rid of him."

"What the hell?! Was the second really that petty!"

"More like too apprehensive or so my grandpa would say. If anything, he actually treasured and respected the inoshikacho and their reputation. He thought my grandpa falling for this Uchiha guy would ruin that. This is actually why the whole blending of clans thing is a very serious issue as of today. Anyway, the mission was to go to the snow country to marry the princess. It was a demand made by its daimyo if our village wanted to continue with making transports since they are the most advanced in technology. But the truth is that the daimyo fell for my grandpa's beauty even if he was male. The First couldn't decline since even the lords of our country demanded it, and my grandpa is sure that it's because the second convinced them that it was an important deal to make. My grandpa couldn't refuse since that would mean he was turning his back on the village."

"That's awful! Is that why Inoma-grandpa isn't a shinobi anymore?"

"That's not enough to make my grandpa stop being a shinobi." Ino frowned. "It was what happened when he could finally come back. The Uchiha guy went radical with strange aspirations that led to trying to destroy the village. Him and the first got into this huge battle. Grandpa tried to stop them, but the second used the members of the Uzumaki clan to hold him down. Actually burying him alive under the ground! Because he figured that his brother would finally do what was necessary and kill the Uchiha guy..."

"He...He didn't actually did it, did he.." Naruto gulped.

Ino depressingly answered, "My grandpa hoped for that, too, but after breaking through the seal thanks to Mito and her teammates: Shikano and Chochura, he came to find his true love lying on the ground...He lost faith in the first. He understood why the first had to do what he did, but he couldn't accept it. Grandpa told me the situation was far more complex and that was all he could tell me."

"So..." Sasuke summarized what she told them, "Inoma-san gave up his status as a shinobi because the first murdered her true love."

"Huh?" Ino was pulled from her thoughts, "Oh no! Sorry, he actually had no choice since the Uchiha guy became a traitor! And everyone knows that being the lover of a traitor and still being in love with him makes you the enemy of the village. My grandpa had to choose between discarding his love or his status. Any smart guy would choose love since he was dead, but my grandpa still believed in the good in him. He still believed that there was hope left wasted because of his death, and he's been clinging to that wasted hope since."

The room became silent until Naruto roared, "I hate it! I hate it! I mean I get why the first and your grandpa did the things they did, but why did the Uchiha guy turned on the village?!"

"Everyone has their reasons." Sasuke responded knowingly. "For reasons such as betrayal, greed or power, many people do the damnest of things to get what they want." He gripped his pants tightly.

Ino placed her hand on it to let him know that they were there for him, knowing full well that he met the man who murdered his clan.

"I still hate it." Naruto stubbornly declared. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"You can't expect everything to have sense." Ino taught them, "We live in a world where everyone is different and complex just like flowers who need different types of care and will bloom when its ready whether it be for better or for worse. No one can truly empathize with another person but we can at least sympathize. Even if our situations may not be the exact same, as long as there is important similar details and the feelings are familiar, then you can form a bond and maybe an everlasting friendship. Sadly, you can't form that with everyone."

"But I could try!"

"You're not even trying with Sasuke."

Naruto blushed out of embarrassment. Sasuke hated how they just dragged him into the conversation as an example, but he got used to it by now. The blonde boy tried to low key stare at Sasuke who just looked away, wanting nothing to do with whatever he's trying to do. It was awkward enough already and Naruto's creepy fat cat face look was not helping.

Ino giggled. "Just kidding. I know you guys LOVE each other very much!"

"We do not!" They said in unison which only did the opposite effect.

"Yeah, yeah. So do you guys have any other questions? Sasuke?"

"You already answered all that I needed to know." Sasuke didn't believe that Inoma knew Itachi since he was no longer a shinobi so must've not been active with the events that spiraled to the fateful night.

"Oh, I have tons!" Naruto asked, "But they're questions about my clan, so I'll wait for our next visit!"

Ino smiled at that, and it may have been because she was tired, but a question slipped out of her mouth, "Anyway, since you know what clan you come from, do you think Kakashi sensei knew who your parents were?"

Something seemed to have switched on in Naruto's head. "Parents? Oh. You're right...uhm...but...I guess I've been so excited knowing I belonged to a clan that I didn't think about that. Honestly, I never thought about my parents much since I don't know anything. I was told that they died during this big ambush that also killed Iruka-sensei's parents..."

Ino mentally kicked herself for the insensitive question. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I-"

"Oh no! Thanks for asking! I...I should know who I am and my parents are a part of that! I mean were they both from the Uzumaki clan or just one of them and which? Why do I have whisker marks on my face?! Aren't you curious, too?!"

Ino was relieved that Naruto seemed okay with the subject. "Then we can ask Kakashi-sensei tomorrow then."

Naruto nodded, "Thanks for coming, guys! Now I think I can get a good night's rest for our mission tomorrow! You better be prepared." He chuckled mischievously. "I have something very special cooked up since I had a whole extra day to make up new tricks."

"Good. But I highly doubt lack of sleep will leave you less energized. You'd just be more whiny."

"Hey! Can't you leave anything on a good note!"

"Tee hee!" Ino playfully pointed her tongue at him.

Her and Sasuke were walked to the door. They walked a bit in peaceful silence but a chaos was brewing inside the boy's mind. Sasuke went on a walk before this to clear his mind, but now, he only felt more conflicted.

"Is there something wrong, Sasuke?"

The boy snapped out of his inner turmoil to remember who was beside him. He answered with a steady voice, "Yeah."

"Oh come on, Sasuke. We've been a team for three months now, and I don't think you realized it yet, but that gives me the ability to know if something is bothering you without using my hidden techniques. You're not the only team member who pays attention." Ino made him aware.

Yet, Sasuke insist, "It's nothing."

Ino inwardly huffed at his stubbornness. Glaring at him for a few moments before sighing, "You and Naruto could definitely be twin brothers. Fine. I won't push you to tell me, but you should talk to someone about it. Goodnight!" She parted from him to her place. Sasuke watched her leave, feeling irritated by her mild prying. He did have someone to talk to if it wasn't her. He felt both relieved and angered that he had help when he didn't want it.

._._._.

A/N: Heh heh heh...So there's my new OC Inoma Yamanaka! He's old, wise, mature, but when going over happy memories, he reverts back to his childish younger self personality-wise. I planned from the start for there to be some link with the Yamanaka family involved with the whole Madara-Hashirama conflict, and yes, I made it into the whole cliche' lover in the background of it all scenario, but I have a plan! Sort of...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So this chapter is more focused on friendship.

Anyway, the one thing I don't understand is the ninja academy school system. I mean Neji's team are only a year older than Naruto's classmates and there is only one school. I don't see how they couldn't have known about them since in any school system, knowing your upperclassmen is always a thing. Did they just have different school days or class times like college because of the shortage of teachers? I mean did Iruka teach Neji's team before graduation that should've taken place the year before?

I believe Rock Lee was aware of who Sakura was because she was only a class younger.

._._._.

After another grueling training session, team 7 was allowed to rest. They all laid back against a tree, feeling the urge to sleep, but they forced themselves to stay awake.

Ino made for conversation, "So plan on asking Kakashi-sensei about your parents, yet, Naruto?"

"No. I'm not ready yet. I just need a little more time to brace myself, y'know."

"I get it. I wouldn't know what to do if I just discovered that my dad was the head of the the village's analysis team and one of the most prestigious clans in the village while having a little flower shop on the side. Hey, maybe your dad was hokage."

"Ha! You think the old man is my dad?!" Naruto referred to the third.

"The wrinkles on his face makes him look like he has whiskers. Why not."

The boys softly laughed at her little joke.

Naruto then asked, "Hey, Ino, can we go see your grandpa, today?"

"Sure. He actually loves visitors."

"Hm?" Kakashi hummed into their conversation as he handed them water to drink. The kids gulped it down in a few gulps. "You guys are going on a visit?"

"Oh yeah! We saw Ino's great-great-great grandpa yesterday! He was really cool!"

"Oh, you mean Inoma-sama. If that was who you were visiting, I would've loved to have come with you guys."

"Sorry, sensei. But you know the rules. No one who has been within the chunin ranks are allowed to see my grandpa."

"What?" Naruto and Sasuke didn't know of this.

Ino sighed, "When my grandpa decided to quit being a shinobi, it actually came with a long set of rules. My grandpa is actually not allowed to leave the mountain we were at, and no official that is within the chunin ranks or higher are allowed to see him. That's because they hold important information and my grandpa isn't allowed to be involved within any political decision of the village. In short, he's treated like a virus that's put into containment. Not even my own dad can see my grandpa now that he rose through the ranks. And sooner or later...neither will I."

"What the hell?! That's so unfair! It's already been a hundred years! It shouldn't matter anymore!"

Kakashi corrected Naruto, "Saying that is like saying a promise shouldn't matter anymore. Inoma-sensei chose to become a criminal. You shouldn't make light of criminal activity or else no one will be served justice."

"But never losing the hope in someone you love should never be treated like something so bad that they became a criminal!"

Ino reminded him, "That someone tried to destroy the village, Naruto. I understand that you feel sorry for my grandpa. I do, too. But my grandpa made his choices, knowing full well of the consequence."

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms. "But people can change! We don't know why the Uchiha guy did what he did, so we have no right to judge! It's just like with Zabuza and Haku, isn't it?! They became the way they were because people were cruel! What needed to be changed wasn't them, but how the Mist Village chose to unfairly treat them! When I become hokage, I'm going to free your grandpa, Ino! Believe it!"

Everyone was silent by Naruto's sudden heartfelt and passionate declaration. Ino softly smiled at him, placing her hand on his head. "Knucklehead. If you want to do something like that, then you better learn some politics. You can't just say you'll do something. You'll have to go through a lot of paper work." Naruto frowned because he knew he wasn't really that bright and paper work sounded the worse. Ino inwardly giggled, "I'll help you out. I don't want to stop seeing my grandpa, either." The two blondes grinned at each other.

Sasuke tried not to glare at this affection. He felt alienated and tried to remain alienated, but Ino called out to him, "And you, too. Right Sasuke. Or maybe Sasuke should become hokage since he's the actual genius." She teased.

"Hey! Nobody is becoming the next hokage but me! But Sasuke can be my advisor guy and you can be my secretary, Ino! Nothing's better than working for me, right?!"

Sasuke couldn't help letting out a short laugh from that joke. "I bet by advisor guy, you mean the one doing all the work."

"No! Just the boring stuff!"

Ino smacked his head, "That's not what the Hokage's right hand man is for!"

"It will be when I'm in charge!"

"Good lord, we're going to have a tyrant." Ino dramatically sighed.

The kids got up, still feeling sore, but energized. "Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, but we can't invite you for obvious reasons."

"It's alright. I'll see you guys tomorrow." He disappeared.

The kids made their way to the mountain, and Inoma greeted them happily and served them some special dumplings that pumped up their youth again. That way, they could train again but this time with him as their teacher.

"The inoshikacho is a balance of the mind, body and soul - Be each others strengths and each others weaknesses." Inoma told them as him and Ino slowly moved to demonstrate their taijutsu style. Delicate glass balls were scattered across the ground. "The Nara clan represents the mind of our alliance. Someone who remains not too close or too far from their enemies. They are able to use the darkness as a weakness, but they are thinkers not fighters. In a fight or flight response, if alone, they're first thought is the run."

"Huh. Never thought Shikamaru was a coward." Naruto commented, but Sasuke corrected him, "It's not cowardice when the odds are against you. Everyone's combat style comes with both pros and cons. Your shadow clone jutsu for an example. Although you do have multiple clones that can help widen your range of possibilities, doing such a jutsu can dramatically decrease your strength. Of course, you are a member of the Uzamaki clan, so that con doesn't necessarily effect you, but another con is your lack of a strategic mind. Your tactical mind has been improving, but your lack of self-restraint to see the bigger picture of a situation has cost us. Like what happened when we faced Haku."

Ino added, "That's something Sasuke and I have been trying to make up for. We try to utilize your boundless energy, range and devious mind while also holding you back so you don't hurt yourself since you always head into danger first." Naruto grimaced at how he felt like they were roasting him.

Inoma continued the lesson, "Good. You two were able to be observant of your other teammates. Naruto, it seems that you are too focused on yourself. My Ino had told me that you like to push yourself too hard at any given opportunity. Pfft. I used to be the same when I was your age."

"Really!" Naruto's eyes sparkled at having similarities with the old man.

"Oh yeah! I was such a troll! Playing pranks on people and getting myself in dangerous situations, I was nearly killed by the enemy multiple times, but I've always been able to get myself out of the situation and lie to my mom that I didn't encounter anyone. As I grew older, though, I became more gentlemen-like and ridicule people with fancy words so they didn't know I was! It was always hilarious when they caught on!"

"Grandpa, your lesson." Ino reminded him.

"Right, right. The Akamichi clan represents the body of our alliance. Someone who faces the enemy face-to-face, but not as a weapon but as a shield with their body. We're not warriors. The inoshikacho are only meant to gather intelligence within the shadows. The Akamachi member is to act as our security guard. Their expanded body is meant to cover us as we do our job, and be our distraction to help us escape with our knowledge. But despite saying that, they are neither thinkers nor fighters. They are lovers. They only fight for the sake to protect. But despite all that strength, what is the weakness."

Sasuke answered, "Their weapon is their body. The Akimichi clan are known to be quite formidable since their bodies are durable against damage, but that's on the outside. If they fight against enemies that can target the inside of their body, then they are defeated."

"Huh? Inside their body? How could someone do that?" Naruto inquired.

And his teammate answered, "There are many ways such as those from the Aburame clan could plant insects inside him or they could be injected by poison through the food they consume."

Inoma nodded. "Correct. As expected from an Uchiha. For the Yamanaka clan, despite being one who uses jutsus of the mind, we represent the soul of our alliance."

"Is it because of your empathy?" The curious-whisker-boy inquired.

Inoma nodded. "And by now you should realize that the Yamanaka clan are the fighters. We are by far the most reckless of the trio. Our famous technique, the mind transfer technique, require us to be within mid range with assistance to restrain the target and to keep our bodies protected. In such a world we live in where trust is fragile, it's crazy to think you'd leave yourself so vulnerable in the hands of the other. It's truly a testimony of faith in your comrades. But with Shikano and Chochura, I never questioned their loyalty. As lazy as Shikano was and as hesitant Chochura was, I put myself in their hands without question."

The grandfather then dip his hand beneath one of the delicate glass balls on the ground so he could balance them on his arms. Ino did the same to show her effortless grace that was instilled through her old man.

Naruto hummed to that. "I always did think the mind transfer jutsu as weird. I mean leaving yourself inside someone's body and you could die if either of your bodies were killed. I mean it's cool to possess another person's body - it came handy a couple of times during missions and training - But I don't think it's worth the risks."

Ino explained, "It's more than possessing a body, Naruto. Like my grandpa told you, we used to be farmers that grew into fields like combat and the hospital. The mind transfer jutsu was created in order to her animals, but it involved into being able to figure out where an animal's pain was located so that farmers and veterinarians could make better diagnoses. Then we became spies who could gather information into interrogation specialists who could break into the most hardened criminals. It may come with the risk of my life, but with all the good it can do, I'll do it."

Inoma then looked to Sasuke, "Beautifully put, Ino, but that's enough about our clans. What about you, Sasuke? Wish to share your clan's culture and history?"

Sasuke blankly stared at the old man. To be honest, he was surprised by the question. So many adults already had their assumptions of his clan. They weren't entirely off the mark, but it always sounded shallow. He spoke, "For the history of the Uchiha, it's something you could probably read in the history books. The Uchiha clan were once a rival clan of the first hokage's clan, the Senju clan. Many bloody battles were fought before Hashirama Senju and my ancestor, Madara Uchiha became allies. The Uchiha clan has always stood as the most powerful clan in the village, becoming its police force since."

"Mm." Naruto asked, "Senju clan? Haven't heard of them."

Inoma explained, "That's because the Senju clan had integrated with other clans, so anyone among us could be related to Hashirama. I know for a fact that my children aren't, but either of you could."

"Me?! A senju?! Cool! Then I belong to two clans!"

"You might belong to two clans." Ino corrected him as she delicately placed her glass ball on the ground. She was huffing for air unlike her grandfather which showed how straining the training was despite having years of practice.

Inoma then continued the lessons, "The combinations of clans can bring about a stronger sense of community within a person or divide them by such a useless tool called pride. The Inoshikacho don't consider each other stronger or better than the other. Just because you belong to a clan close to the hokage or a respected clan that passed you powerful unique gifts, or just being someone who aspires to be above them all alone, it all means to naught if people refuses to look you straight in the eye as a fellow comrade."

Naruto's eyes widened at amazement while Sasuke huffed at that.

Inoma smiled at the Uchiha boy. "Looks like we have quite the proud one here. Ino tells me that you act as the leader of the group."

"Yeah, it's because I'm better that I can lead this group."

"Then how about a one-on-one then. My taijutsu versus your fancy ninja moves." The old man crossed his arms confidently. "It's been awhile since I kicked some Uchiha but with these feet."

"Heh." The boy smirked as the two went to a clearing in the mountain.

Ino moaned in worry. Naruto asked what's wrong and Ino answered, "I should've warned you guys. My grandpa," Sasuke charged, but before he understood what was happening he was on the ground with feeling a tight pressure on his chest as if he's been hit but he didn't see it. "is a taijutsu specialist. Back when my grandpa used to have his own team of genins, one of them actually couldn't use genjutsu or ninjutsu. Everyone at the village thought he was crazy, but he proved them wrong. It wasn't something my grandpa started, but there are ninjas around the world who can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu like that weird upperclassman with the bushy brows."

"Oh right. What was his name. Broccoli?"

"I don't know, but they exist and my grandpa is one of them since he lost his chakra. Sasuke may be a genius, but there's a point where brawns beat brains."

Inoma smirked down at Sasuke who was still in shock. The boy began to feel pain rise in other areas of his body. The old man explained, "Your sharingan can do many powerful things, but it requires to see the enemy. Your sensei Kakashi struggled with his second fight with Zabuza due to that. So we can safely say that your weakness is your pride." Sasuke immediately tried to attack the Yamanaka elder, but the boy suddenly found himself thrown to a tree. Inoma held him against it by the throat. "And no manners. Understand one thing young man, I'm placing one of the most precious children in your care. So far you've proven to be a good teammate, but if you truly want to become a chunin, you're going to have to learn some humility since your sensei won't be there to keep you in line."

Sasuke glared furiously at Inoma with his sharingan in full bloom. Inside them, they both had two comma marks. Inoma smirked, leaping back and allowing the boy to attack. Inoma went just a bit slower for the boy to try out his awaken ability to clearly read and copy his movements. Sasuke could tell that the old man was holding back which annoyed him because even then, he was no match.

Ino made a step forward, but she held herself back. Naruto was surprised to see Sasuke helplessly losing when he usually was so cool and could face Kakashi. The two just kept watching with some snacks for a good three hours before Sasuke no longer move a single muscle. Inoma didn't break a sweat at all. Ino went over to Sasuke and she used her medical ninjutsu that she mastered. She frowned at how hurt Sasuke was, but she didn't make a comment.

"Wow! You really are something, old man Inoma! You're over a hundred but you move so fast that I couldn't tell where you were at all! Can you teach me to get that fast!" Naruto was feeling goosebumps.

"It's going to take you a couple of years to reach that speed if you are willing to put in the hard work, but I'm more interested in teaching you the Uzumaki clan techniques."

"The Uzumaki clan techniques?"

"Hell yeah! As a distant relative to Mito, I have to teach you their techniques! Don't tell anyone this, but Mito and I shared each other the secret of our techniques when it's supposed to be a secret." She winked at Naruto. "But it's getting late, so we'll start you training tomorrow. Feeling better Uchiha boy?"

Sasuke got up, huffing for air, glaring intensely with all the hate he could muster. The three of them left the mountain.

"Sasuke." Ino called out to him. "Just so you know my grandpa wasn't mocking you. He's..."

"He gave him the ass kicking he needed." Naruto finished for her.

"Naruto!"

"What?! You noticed, too, right. You've always been stuck up from the get-go, and it's been driving on my nerves since day one! But Inoma proved that you're not all that great to begin with!"

Sasuke glared at him yet smirked cruelly. "Who are you to chide me, Konoha's #1 rookie. You who screw up every mission we go on and was a chicken when we faced our first real threat!"

Naruto flinched by being called out, but he remained stubborn. "Shut up! I know I may not be the best ninja yet and I talk big, but at least I'm not actually pretending that I already better than everyone else under all that coolness! You may be called a genius but all I see is someone who is only slightly above average, and is a total idiot when it comes to acting like a decent person!"

"Say that to my face again." Sasuke was seething with rage. His fists trembling at his sides.

"Better yet let me punch it into your face since your eyes are better than your ears!"

The two charged at each other.

"ENOUGH!" Ino grabbed both of their wrists before they could begin, and threw them to the ground. "YOU TWO NEED TO GET YOUR ATTITUDE TOGETHER! This is exactly what my grandpa was talking about! I get it that you two are rivals, but you need to stop using each other as punching bags for your own personal issues! We're supposed to support each other. Not tear each other down! We've been doing great as a team! Sasuke, you are a great leader and a ninja, but you need to put more faith in us as not only your teammates but also your friends."

"I don't have friends! I'm only tolerating this team until we become chunin, and once I succeed in that, this team will become history."

"Fine! We don't need you!"

"QUIET!" Ino controlled her own anger. "You don't actually mean that do you, Naruto. Just be honest!"

"His ho-"

"I SAID QUIET!" Ino snapped at Sasuke who shut his mouth. She then glared at Naruto who didn't want to be honest, but he knew better than to upset Ino.

"Okay! Fine! I don't actually mean it! I respect you as both my rival and my teammate! Hey! Maybe even friends! This team needs you Sasuke, but I'm trying my best so it needs me, too! If you want to bump heads, we'll bump heads! If you want to knock me down, then I'll get right back up and knock you down harder, and expect you to stand up as my rival! And if you need to talk..." Naruto drop his gaze. "We'll talk."

Everything became heavily silent. Naruto bought his gaze back up to Sasuke to show that he was true to his words. Sasuke was overwhelmed by those words.

 _ **"You must kill your best friend."**_

Sasuke cast his gaze down as a cold feeling rose in his heart. He then felt his hand being held. He saw that it was Ino holding his hand, and her gaze were just as reaching as Naruto's. Sasuke didn't feel alone, but behind them, he imagined Itachi standing from a distance. He pulled Ino's hand away from his and avoided Naruto's gaze.

 _ **"I did it to measure my own power."**_

 _ **"If you want to kill me then live miserably! Hate me!"**_

"There's no such thing as complete loyalty. Even the Inoshikacho can't always remain loyal to one another. The alliance will crumble eventually when a bad seed is born. Your own grandpa, Ino, chose an evil man over her village. Loyalty...isn't always clear cut and never forever."

"...True."

"Ino!" Naruto was horrified that she agreed so easily.

Ino explained, "My grandpa did betray the village for love. And for every Inoshikacho generation, there is always the fear that at one point the alliance will dissolve. But living in apprehension like the Second will only make what you fear come true! I believe in you and Naruto and I hope that we can be a team. I hope that whenever you're in trouble Sasuke, like when you're facing the man who destroyed your clan, that you will call for me, Naruto and Kakashi to be by your side. Aren't we all becoming stronger for a dream!"

"That's right!" Naruto cried out. "My dream is to be hokage! Ino is going to lead her clan, and you will get vengeance for your clan, Sasuke!"

"I don't need you to fulfill that!"

"Doesn't matter." Naruto grinned. "We'll stand by you, Sasuke because that's what a team is for. I may not like you a whole lot, but this guy who hurt your village deserves an ass kicking and if he happens to have friends, Ino and I'll take care of it." Ino nodded in agreement.

Sasuke frowned at their stubbornness. They weren't strong enough to face his brother or even his friends. They don't know the true power Itachi possessed. They didn't even understand the full weight of his vengeance that they could barely shouldered any of it.

But...his brain couldn't stop repeating, _"You're not alone."_

"How about we go have some onigiri? My treat." Ino offered to break the atmosphere.

"Oh! I'm up for that!"

Sasuke turned away. "I need to be alone."

"What?! Bu-"

"Leave it, Naruto." Ino smiled at him. "Some things come harder to people. Just give him time."

Naruto grimaced, but he respected Sasuke's space. The two then went to get onigiri together.

On Sasuke's way, he encountered Kakashi who was sitting on a bench, reading his book. No words were said. He just sat next to the man.

"How was your day with Inoma-sama?" His sensei asked nonchalantly.

"Terrible. He manipulated us into getting into this huge fight about teamwork, only to have it strengthen. It's all a cliche'."

"But it's working, otherwise, you wouldn't be so worried about it. You have seemed distracted today."

"...Kakashi..." Sasuke hesitated to continue as he felt a faint tingle on his forehead as if someone had poked him.

"Hm." He hummed to encourage the younger to speak.

"I heard that you became a chunin at six."

"Ah, that was only because we were at times of war. The requirements to become a chunin were low so they could recruit more soldiers to the battlefields. Of course I became a chunin at a younger age than my peers, but whether I truly deserved such a position...I don't know that myself."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke sort of knew his answer, but he wanted to hear him say it.

Kakashi got up. "Let's take a walk, shall we." Sasuke followed him until they stopped at the Konoha cemetery and stood before Sakumo Hatake's grave. Kakashi told Sasuke the story of his father's fame and glory that ended in suffering and tragedy. "Do you remember what I told you the day you became a genin?"

"That...those who break the rules and the code of the ninja world are scum...but those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than scum." His dark thoughts were brightened at the thought of Naruto and Ino. He also felt very conscious of Kakashi near him. He quickly discarded it with skepticism. "But the comrades your father saved set themselves up to be sacrificed for the sake of the mission. Didn't he betray their pride for his own morals."

"You could ask the same to those comrades of his. Did the mission truly matter over the lives of those comrades. The village did face several losses, but we are still standing as a nation. And those ninjas could still see their families and friends another day. I still see most of them alive today, and they walk by their children and grandchildren...happily. Naruto and you started in this team with nothing to lose, but before you know it, you do have something, someone to lose. Are they worth sacrificing for one agenda?"

Sasuke thought of Ino and the family and friends she was surrounded with. She was well known by the village because of the flower shop. Every little mission they went on, they would know her because they've visited the shop. To sacrifice her for the sake of a mission, the whole village would seem to have shifted a bit awkwardly without her standing behind the counter of that flower shop greeting people with a smile.

It was strange, but for the first time, Sasuke truly felt responsible for a human life with a death that could effect many.

Kakashi continued, "Naruto and Ino are willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the mission. It's what you've been taught to do, but for the reason, you should think carefully on that."

The sensei turned to leave, but Sasuke immediately requested, "Please teach me."

"Hm?" He turned his head to the boy.

The twelve-year-old repeated, "Teach me what you know, Copy Ninja Kakashi of the Sharigan."

._._._.

Kakashi entered the hokage's office to report, "It seems that Inoma-sama plans on teaching Naruto about the Uzumaki can."

The hokage was deeply surprised by this. "So he met Ima-sensei."

"It was only yesterday, and Naruto is fond of him. But Lord Hokage, can we trust Inoma-sama to not reveal the Kyuubi's presence to Naruto?"

Hiruzen thought on this before answering, "It's been over half a century since I last seen Ima-sensei. I'm still shocked to this day that he chose to remain faithful to Madara over the village. If the village knew of this, it could spread chaos since the rumors of the Uchiha involvement to the incident twelve years ago are not forgotten...But, Ima-sensei has never been one to lose reason. I see that in her grandchildren."

He closed his eyes to faintly remember the great beauty standing before the shrine gate of the Yamanaka mountain. Inoma Yamanaka was truly a man who was once a goddess in the past life. His golden platinum hair that reached to the back his knees shined softly by the sunlight. His eyes like larkspurs dyed in purple and blue. He had said all his goodbyes to his friends and family, and now, he was the only one left because Inoma wanted to speak to him before he entered his new life.

 _"Hiruzen,"_ His thin lips spoke with a light hearted male's voice that didn't ruin the feminine beauty he possessed, _"this will be the last time I see you."_

 _"Ima-sensei-"_

 _"You probably feel conflicted between your love for me and your loyalty to the village. Don't follow my example, Hiruzen. Your clan is responsible for guiding the next Inoshikacho, and someday one of your children will take on that responsibility. I need you to be a great shinobi for your kid to take after."_

 _"Ima-sensei..."_

 _"Don't let your heart be light on others, Hiruzen. Even on those you love. Pffbt! What am I talking about! You're a complete sap! You have such a great heart and a genius mind, but you're all out of balance."_ He turned away.

 _"Ima-sensei!"_

 _"Hiruzen...Your sensei Tobirama is a predictable man, and yet even though I hated him with all my heart, I still hoped...that he'd do the right thing for once."_ His breath became ragged, _"I hoped for so much from this village. I had such great hopes! I believed...that it could endure anything."_ He gulped down the air. His throat becoming too tight to properly breathe. _"Hiruzen. Hiruzen. Hiruzen."_ He whimpered his name.

Hiruzen held his head down, feeling helpless. _"Don't set me free."_ He rose his head again at those words. _"Never set me free."_ He walked into the mountain where a jutsu was cast so that no chuunin or others of a higher rank could ever see, hear, or touch him again.

"You never got the chance to meet him, Kakashi. Despite Ima-sensei's betrayal to the village, he still loved Konoha with all his heart. I am confident he has no plans to put this village's safety at risk."

Kakashi nodded to his words. If the hokage believed so, then he guessed he could take the risk.

._._._.

"Huh. No more team training?" Ino was surprised since that seemed to be the overall theme for them from Kakashi.

"For the mean time. It looks like all of you are interested in learning elsewhere and Sasuke had asked me to personally mentor him with the sharingan."

"So this is your answer!" Naruto pointed at Sasuke furiously. "Take away our training time with Kakashi-sensei! Well, if you put it in that way, it doesn't sound so bad." He grinned excitedly.

Kakashi stood before a tree since he couldn't bear to look at anyone at the moment. He almost regretted passing these children.

Ino worriedly asked, "So is this what you wanted Sasuke? To exclude us after all?"

Sasuke coolly answered, "It's only for awhile. You are trying to master your medical ninjutsu and have been unable to also concentrate in learning more of your Yamanaka techniques. Naruto is learning his clan's techniques from your grandfather and I learned yesterday that I still have room for improvement. Something Kakashi can teach me since he has a more advanced sharingan than me."

Kakashi turned back to them, hiding his hurt feelings, to add, "We'll continue doing missions together, but for at least the next three months, we'll all improve ourselves, and then further work on our teamwork by then. I'm sure you'll all make me proud."

"Oh, you bet I will! I'm gonna work hard day and night, baby! I'm gonna become even stronger than you, Sasuke! Believe it!" Naruto declared haughtily, making Sasuke unable to take him seriously, but he was up for the challenge.

Yet Ino reminded them, "But you two will have to leave room for next week. It's going to be the tanabata festival, and my mom is inviting you over to celebrate and has yuakata for us to wear for the festival. You can come, too, Kakashi-sensei."

"Oh, I'd love to."

"Oh! I'll definitely come!"

Ino looked to Sasuke expectantly. The boy coolly answered, "Whatever."

"Great! See you guys then!"

And so team 7 split ways for their training. Ino had mastered to heal small wounds like the one Sasuke had, so she still had a long way to improve. Sasuke and Kakashi went over to the rocky mountains to train until night fall.

And Naruto went over to Inoma's mountain every day to train. Inoma told Naruto the stories, holidays, traditions and languages that the Uzumaki knew and spoke of while he taught him their taijutsu techniques. He made native dishes and pointed out the other cultural significance in Konoha that went beyond the red swirl. Naruto would then relay this to Ino and Sasuke during their missions in the morning and when they went on to travel.

On the week of the Tanabata festival, the three of them got ready at Choji's place since his home was like a mansion with a wide backyard that had bamboo for them to tie their wishes to. Team 7, team 10 with their parents and senseis were there. Iruka-sensei was also present since Naruto asked if he could come celebrate with them, too.

Ino's mother provided the boys with their yukata. Sasuke got a midnight blue one with a black sash. Naruto got a grey one with an orange sash since Ino told the woman he loved the color orange. Kakashi and Iruka helped them put it on while Ino dressed up with her sister and mother. Ino wore a white yukata with purple and white morning glory flower prints. Her hair was put into a bun and accessorized with kanzashi as well. Inoni wore the same yukata as the boys.

For the wishes, Naruto wrote down that his wish to be the best hokage like usual. Ino wished to meet a handsome boy who'll sweep her off her feet. Sasuke wished for new ninja gear. Inoni wished for awesome gloves. Shikamaru wished for more breaks. Choji wished for more potato chips. Asuma was really private with his wish, but Inoni spilled the beans that he's been flirting with Kiba's sensei. Kakashi wasn't sure of what to wish for while Iruka wished for a great future for his students. The jounin was impressed by his considerate thoughts and had him help him think of a wish.

Ino became suspicious of this behavior. "He's totally flirting with Iruka-sensei." She whispered to her friends.

Inoni covered Naruto's mouth before he could scream. Sasuke looked like he was about to, too. Shikamaru and Choji didn't give a crap.

"Ya think. But teach there is dense." Inoni pointed out.

"Iruka-sensei is not dense!" Naruto whispered at them.

"Romantically, golden boy."

"Romantically? You seriously think they're flirting? They just look like they're talking."

Ino pointed out, "Yeah, but Kakashi actually looks attentive instead of having dead fish eyes."

Naruto observed. "Oh, now that you say it, he's standing up straighter and a lot closer that usual."

The two looked to Sasuke to join, but the male looked away quickly. Inoni snickered, "Can't stand yur first love getting taken, huh." Sasuke glared at her but in a comical way.

Naruto gasped, "You're in love with Iruka-sensei!"

"No, I'm not! Shut up, idiot!"

"You shut up!"

"You both be quiet!" Ino scolded them.

Kakashi and Iruka looked over to the kids while Asuma rather avoid eye contact with them. They, except for Asuma who also noticed Kakashi's obvious attraction for the school teacher, wondered what they were getting all passionate about.

After that, they had lunch before heading to the festival grounds together. The adults had given the children money so they could enjoy plenty more food and games. Naruto and Inoni got really competitive with each other while Choji and Shikamaru just watched them out of amusement.

Ino looked over to Sasuke, "Is there anything you'd like to do Sasuke?"

"Festival games are lame."

"Oh come on now and relax. You've been training nonstop with Kakashi-sensei for a week and I know you guys don't stop till it's the dead of night. There's gotta be something you'd like to do for fun that's relaxing."

Sasuke glared at her out of slight irritation, but he walked away with her following him. Shikamaru watched them go out of suspicion as they began talking out of ear shot. He didn't necessarily like Sasuke because he just screamed bad news, but he trusted Ino to take care of herself so he let them go.

As Sasuke and Ino walked, the boy reminded her, "I'm an avenger. Only I can kill him. I have to become stronger than him. Every moment I spend wasting my time here, I'm getting nowhere near to beating him..." Sasuke remembered back to how he reacted when he thought Itachi would kill him, "That time...crying."

His thoughts were interrupted when Ino held his shoulder as a gesture for him to stop. "That's not true, Sasuke. Every moment you're spending off the training grounds, you're forging bonds. You're creating an identity away from just being a tool for vengeance. I meet too many great shinobi who felt empty because they didn't do that. When you do get your justice, Sasuke, you'll lose the main reason to train as hard as you did, but you'll still keep the others: training to make sure Naruto doesn't beat you, training so you could achieve other dreams. There must be something else you want to truly accomplish besides vengeance."

"I want to restore my village."

"More than that." Ino pushed him to think. "Those are jobs you're giving yourself to do, but I want you to think of what you want to do that'll make you truly happy. My father often tells me to live for happiness today, but it doesn't hurt to make a long term goal for it. What makes you happy, Sasuke."

The boy didn't know. He was so focused on vengeance and filling himself with hatred that happiness was never on his mind. He hadn't actually felt that emotion in a long time. He'd be thrilled and excited during battle and training, but the type of happiness that Ino was asking for was something filled with contentment. He looked down in shame. "...I don't know."

"Then let's discover that. This festival is the perfect place." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to where they were selling masks. Ino went for a cute cat masks while Sasuke went for the oni.

"Anbu would wear the animal masks. Do you want to become one someday, Sasuke after we become chuunin?"

"To become an anbu, you have to be specially hand picked by the hokage. I wouldn't mind becoming one..."

"But?" Ino felt that Sasuke had more to say.

Sasuke hesitated to speak, but his mouth felt honest, "Before the destruction of my village, I wanted to become a captain in our police force just like my father."

"Your dad was the captain of the police force wasn't he." Ino reminisced, "I remember him, my dad, and Konoha's commanding officer Morino Ibiki of the interrogation force talking together since they caught a rather difficult suspect or I think that was the case. My dad told me that Konoha was peaceful thanks to the police force, and it allowed for more ninjas to dispatch onto missions. It's been difficult since. So is that something thaat would make you happy. Recreating Konoha's police force? It may not be filled with shinobi with sharingan, but it could definitely put back some structure into this village since it continues to expand. Crime will only get worse if no one does something about it."

"No." Sasuke answered, "If Konoha wanted a police force again without the Uchiha, then they should've made one. To create a police force without other Uchiha, it wouldn't be the same. The point of the police force was to keep Konoha's crime rate among ourselves down, but for me, it was about the Uchiha pride. Our abilities made us suited for the duty and when I do restore my village, perhaps we could recreate the police for or something...different."

Ino sighed, "So that's another job, huh." She looked around for something to do. She perked up at the sight of some nice grilled meat they could enjoy. She knew his favorite foods, but still asked his opinion on others. She then had him join her in games where she cheered him on, and as expected, they proved too easy for the skilled ninja. They denied the awards since they had no use for stuff animals or toys.

For a moment, Ino got distracted when she saw a group of cute older guys pass by. She flirtatiously greeted them and told them to stop by at the flower shop. Sasuke was used to her doing that, and the two continued on to explore the booths. Yet when the parades started to being, Ino pulled him away to go to the attractions such as the tunnel where it looked like they entered the night and the milky way was flourishing above them. "It was getting really crowded since the parade is beginning, so I figured you'd rather be in here." She let him know. "It looks like festivals really isn't your thing, huh. The games are too easy. You don't care for the sweet food, and it's all loud and crowded. Maybe you could become a librarian after all this."

Sasuke couldn't help snorting at that. "I knew it was fruitless to begin with. I wonder if that idiot hadn't been kicked out yet with your sister."

Ino giggled at that, "I wouldn't be surprised if they were! I'll feel bad if Shikamaru and Choji get kicked out, too. Last year, Inoni accidentally destroyed a booth because she hit the target too hard. My sister is scary strong. You should know since everyone besides you and Naruto were too scared to face her one-on-one. Even when she's restraining herself, she's too much. But, I couldn't ask for a better older sister, I guess."

"..." Sasuke frowned at those words. He used to think the same way. His forehead began to tingle again as he thought back to how amazing yet distant Itachi was. His thoughts were interrupted again when he felt Ino's hand.

"Sasuke." She appeared worried and apologetic. "Sorry. I guess talking about family isn't the best subject."

"It's not that." He was quick to defend. "It does bring up thoughts of the past, but that shouldn't stop you from sharing. Besides, it wouldn't be like you if you weren't annoyingly talkative."

Ino's jaw drop in comedic, passive-aggressive anger. "Well, sorry that I'm annoyingly talkative Mr. Too-Good-To-Speak-More-Than-A-Word-During-A-Friendly-Conversation. I'll let you know I talk this much because you don't talk enough. Naruto and I don't have this problem."

"Naruto is not normal to begin with. He parades around as a naked woman to get his way."

Ino tried to retort that, but he was so right. Instead she burst out laughing. Sasuke couldn't help smirking along with her because Naruto was just ridiculous. She began reminiscing with Sasuke about all his hilarious habits and failures and even success! The two then began talking about missions and then what ifs and strategies. They would throw in a sarcastic remark or a joke.

The conversation carried throughout the tunnel until they reached the end, and to their surprise, it was raining. Ino moaned sad. "Aw, it looks like Orihime and Hikoboshi won't be seeing each other today. You know, it sucks that they can only meet once a year and within that one year, Orihime is working really hard just to make her father happy so she can see the one she loves. And if it rains, then tough luck. It's just unfair y'know."

"That may be, but they are gods. A year passing for them is like a week."

"But with a wistful heart, a year could pass like a decade."

"If she is working as hard as she does, and he the same, it should pass quickly."

"But after a hard day of work, a silent night comes, and a worried mind can't sleep the heavy hours away."

"I'm sure they had practice."

"Anything can happen in a week the same as anything happening in a year. Even gods can meet their end."

"I doubt her father will allow such a thing to happen if he wants to continue getting those beautiful clothes."

"A father's love isn't that cheap."

"Are you saying I'm right, then."

Ino's mouth was open to retort, and she was left hanging. "God, I love and hate that smart brain of yours sometimes! But hey, that means you believe that two lovers can remain faithful!"

"We're shinobi. Faithfulness is to be expected."

Ino sighed, "If only that were true for marriage. Ninjas who go on long missions would act unfaithful when they get the chance so they could put their full concentration on the mission, and to make it fair, they allow their spouse to do the same. When I find the one I marry, I don't want it to be like that. You pretty much know what type of guy I like, but what about you, Sasuke? You need to find a wife to restore your village, so what kind of woman would she be?"

Sasuke replied, "The quiet and obedient type, but not one that's submissive. She will be in charge of raising the future Uchiha children, so I expect her to be strong."

"Huh. The Yamato Nadeshiko type then. I think we had that type in class. The Hyuuga girl. She's the quiet type who seems obedient but she's from a pretty strong clan. But that clan happened to have their own doujutsu so we'll have to think of someone else. So...how about Sakura?"

Sasuke was surprised by the suggestion. Ino didn't look at him as she explained, "I know Sakura's trying her hardest to get your attention that it's troubling her teammates. She really likes you Sasuke, and she may not seem it now, but she's a bud waiting to bloom into a flower far more beautiful than the cosmos..." Ino looked up at the cloudy gray sky as the rain continued to pour. "Everyone in class thought she was the prettiest and she's also has a big brain behind the billboard of hers. If you two had a child, she'd also be a gifted genius with amazing beauty."

Sasuke furrowed his brows. "What are you getting at, Ino?"

Ino looked his way, which allowed him to see the pain in her eyes, but Ino remained strong to speak her mind, "I like you, Sasuke. I still like you even when I know we can't be together and that I'm not your type. But...to be honest, part of why I like you is because I don't want to lose to Sakura. I realized that by the more time I spend with you and I think of her. It's been weighing on my mind, but I honestly believe Sakura loves you more than I ever could, and I...accept that." She didn't know what she was feeling after confessing. A part of her felt free but another evenly split half felt trapped. "So I guess what I'm saying is that Sakura may not know this, but I'm rooting for her, so as her rival and best friend in disguise, please consider her feelings."

Sasuke was silent. He remained silent when Naruto found them soaking wet with the others and telling them that the festival was cancelled so they had to get back home. They went back to Choji's place where they stayed for dinner and a slumber party.

Ino was acting like her usual self as they began playing a board game where they had to figure out what they've been transformed into by the other team, and also figure out riddles, steal information and destroy the enemy's territory. The board game really showed their strengths and weaknesses. Shikamaru proved to have a genius intellect after all since he could figure out his enemy's strategies and get the most out of his sacrifice. Naruto was the complete opposite but he seemed to be able to pull out some wild cards to get him still running through the game. Choji was either very aggressive or very passive depending on what the awards were. The Yamanaka twins once again prove to be the most effective spies of the game that they have been able to rob the others under their noses. Yet Inoni proved to take on the more aggressive approach while Ino was more passive. Sasuke was able to keep up with Shikamaru effortlessly and his determination was what made him dominate the game entirely from every angle.

They played on til they fell asleep.

._._._.

"Ino and Sasuke seem weird." Naruto said out of the blue while they were slowly doing fighting styles of the Uzumaki clan.

"Hm?" Inoma hummed for him to continue.

"I mean, they act normal, but everything else seem off. Like something happened at the festival the other day or something, and I don't know what it is."

"Why don't you ask them?"

"Cuz it's none of my business. I asked Kakashi-sensei though, and he doesn't know either. He was too busy going on a date with Iruka-sensei."

"You seem to be taking your two teachers going on a date really well."

"I mean I was shocked at first, but it's none of my business who Iruka-sensei decides to date. He might actually be a good influence for Kakashi-sensei. It's Sasuke and Ino I'm worried about. So Ino likes Sasuke but Sasuke doesn't really like Ino the same way, and everything was cool, but something definitely happened, and I think it has something to do with that."

"Love is a terrifying feeling that makes things complicated. Maybe it has something to do with that girl you like."

"Sakura? Hey! Did Ino tell you?!"

"A granddaughter shouldn't hide too much from her only great-great-great grandfather."

Naruto frowned, but he focused on the real issue. "So why do you think Sakura could be involved?"

"Mm. There's always someone involved, and she's my best guess. Anyway, I think we should be discussing more on your Uzumaki training. You seem to be able to grasp their taijutsu techniques, so I'll be teaching you their jutsus next."

"MMMM." Naruto grimaced at the idea. "I actually don't want to learn the fuinjutsu stuff."

"Why not?"

"Don't get me wrong! I'm excited to learn all this stuff, but after going home and really thinking about it, I'm not comfortable with the idea of sealing things away. I mean, it could come in handy, but I don't want to solve things by sealing them away."

"So you'd rather kill it." Inoma thought that was efficient but the boy immediately denied it.

"No! I mean...geeze, how do I put it, sealing people or monsters away doesn't solve the real issue y'know. It's like that saying out of sight, out of mind. Y'know!" Naruto tried to convey his feelings in words but it was quite the struggle.

But Inoma did understand. "Gotcha. You compared the sealing jutsus to my situation."

'That's right! They solved your issue by just sealing you away into this mountain! Maybe you were a flight risk, but it shouldn't have been solved this way."

"But I pushed the situation to become this way."

"Well, they should've pushed what they wanted another way if they cared about you! You missed out on a lot of things in Konoha just because you love someone! He may have tried to destroy the village, but he didn't! You could've stopped him or prevented any of it if the Second wasn't such an ass! He's the one who deserves to be here! Not you! I'm glad he kicked the bucket because I would've given him a piece of my mind!"

Inoma held back a giggle. He kissed Naruto's cheek to show his appreciation. The boy was a bit weirded out, but got distracted by his response, "You definitely have a way with words to warm a person's heart. I understand. I won't teach you fuinjutsu, but the least I can teach you is how to break seals and curses. It wouldn't make sense if a clan knows how to master one way of doing things without knowing how to break out of it."

"Oh! So you're going to teach me how to break out of the mind transfer jutsu right!"

Inoma laughed. "In order to do that, you're going to have to have a stronger will than Ino!"

Naruto gulped when he thought of the scary side of Ino. "I don't think I can face someone so scary, but I think I can beat Inoni at least! She only got lucky at hitting those targets! Well, I'm gonna show her that I'm more than some dumb luck! Believe it! I'm gonna become hokage!"

The old man let out a pleased breath through his nose.

._._._.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried out when she finally caught him on his day off that happened to overlap with hers. Kakashi still wanted Sasuke to take day offs from their personal training to relax and put things into perspective. Sasuke glared at the fan girl. He just walked on and she followed, trying to make conversation.

Ino was currently at the hospital. Though it was a day off from missions and she could relax, she had come to know the patients around here, so she was making visits to brighten their day with some flowers and fruit. When she was done with her visit of the day, she was surprised to find Naruto waiting for her.

"Huh? Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you, so I've been waiting. So you come to the hospitals on your day offs, too?"

"It's just to brighten the patient's days and beautify their rooms. It's been said that a beautiful scenery can quicken recovery."

"Well I wouldn't know that since I recover pretty quickly." The boy couldn't help gloating.

Ino rolled her eyes. The two blondes then heard gossiping and giggling from old ladies. They were talking about how great they were at getting along and how Ino was making quite the respectable boy. They've heard this gossip before, so they left.

"So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well, uhm, it's about you and Sasuke."

"So you noticed, too. I didn't mean to make it uncomfortable for you, too."

"I'm not uncomfortable. I'm just confused. We were getting along as a team, but ever since the festival, I get the feeling something happened between you two and your grandpa thinks it has Sakura involved."

"Figures that grandpa would be perceptive. I just told Sasuke that he should give Sakura a chance."

"What?! But I like Sakura."

"That doesn't mean that another guy can't like her. It just means that you need to try harder to get her attention."

"Okay, fair enough! But don't you like Sasuke! I mean I get that you two can't be together, but you shouldn't decide or even suggest he be with someone else! What about your feelings!"

"This is about my feelings! Naruto, to be honest I'm not sure of what my feelings for Sasuke are, especially when I compare them to Sakura's. Because we can't be together, I want to be friends. But even if we are, I still feel like there's a weight in my head. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help thinking that I'm in the lead, but I'm not trying my hardest. And it upsets me. I'm in a race that I'm not even a participant of, so why am I running. I had an opportunity to speak my mind, so I did."

"And did it help?"

"I'm not even sure it did. A part of me feels liberated, but I can't help feeling pathetic that I lost before the race even began."

"I don't really get you, but all I can say is that it does feel like you're throwing Sasuke aside."

"I didn't mean to." She groaned. "I know I always say too much, and I regret it, but I don't know what else to say to not make the situation worse."

"Did Sasuke say anything about it?"

"No. He was silent."

"Then maybe that's the problem. Sasuke is the one not talking. You need to hear his side."

"His side..." Ino thought that made sense, and she felt kinda dumbfounded by Naruto's wise side. "Wow, I didn't think you were so insightful, Naruto."

"Hey! I pay attention to my teammates, too, and I may not seem like it, but I have a brain, too!"

"I know." Ino petted his head. "You really are becoming a great shinobi."

Naruto blushed. He bashfully grinned, "You really think so."

Ino looked him directly in the eyes without a doubt in her eyes, "Definitely." The two smiled at each other, not caring who was around them. Everyone whispered to each other, and it carried all the way to where Sakura and Sasuke were.

The pink-haired girl was surprised, "Wow, caught having a moment in the middle of the streets. I guess your teammates really are together, Sasuke."

The boy glared at her. He really had enough, "For someone so smart from the academy, you don't have anything smart to say. You're only good at remembering what other people know, but never putting it into good use for anybody but yourself. You can't even get the hint that I don't want anything to do with you. I bet you're the one who spread those rumors of them dating without any substantial evidence." Sasuke looked over his shoulder a little to bear his harshest words,

 _ **"You're annoying."**_

Sasuke walked away, not caring of how Sakura reacted to his words. He was too annoyed, and he didn't exactly understand why.

The next day while they waited for their sensei who still came late, Ino asked him to talk in private. Sasuke didn't know why but Naruto seemed to when he gave them the privacy by walking away.

"Sasuke, I've been thinking a lot of what I told you at the festival. About Sakura and how it made things tense between us. I wasn't sure of what I did wrong, and talked to Naruto about it. Weird, I know. But it put things into perspective, and I realized I hadn't really thought of how you felt about it. I assumed you wouldn't care. I'm sorry."

"I don't. What you said was nothing important."

That made Ino cock her head, furrowing her eyebrows at him. "So why has it been awkward between us?"

"That was all on you."

Ino's jaw drop once again, and she swore that the boy should be blessed that she had some restraint since she wasn't handling Naruto who needed to be yelled at. They needed a mature conversation between them twelve-year-olds. "Excuse me! You're the one who has been acting stiffer than a log in the raining season!" Sasuke just looked away. "Don't ignore me!"

"There's no point to this conversation."

"No point?!" She got right in front of him to grab his attention, "I am trying to fix this awkward atmosphere we have, and you're avoiding it."

"I'm not avoiding it."

"Yes! Yes you are!"

"Stop your yelling. No wonder Shikamaru complains about you."

Ino's lips were shut as hurt and shock was evident in her eyes. Rage quickly overtook her. "Are you really afraid of your feelings that you have to brush me off like that! And here I thought you were cool and composed but you're really just a chicken to your emotions!"

"You're the one trying to start an argument. I thought you were trying to fix what isn't broken."

"If you think that, then your eyes must be more crooked than I thought, Oh Mr. Last-Survivor-Of-The-Sharingan." Ino knew she crossed a line but she wasn't bowing down to even this boy.

Naruto quickly came in, obviously eavesdropping on their conversation. "Whoa! Whoa! We don't have to get all heated up! We're a team."

"Are we, Naruto?!" Ino's voice lashed out like a lightning snapping a tree off its roots. "When we extended our hands to this guy, he took the opportunity to split us apart!"

"That was so we can focus on improving our skills!" The boy tried to reason.

But Ino pointed out, "But out of all the times to do that, he chose to do it right after we tried to establish a bond in this team." She glared at Sasuke who looked disinterested, "At this point, I realize I keep assuming that you're a good person under that coldness, but you're just a guy running away from anything good in his life." She turned away.

"Ah! Ino, where are you going?!"

"Anywhere but here!"

Naruto sighed and looked over to Sasuke. "You really don't know how to treat girls."

"Tch. Like you're one to talk."

"Maybe I am since you won't."

Sasuke did not need that verbal smack down from an idiot like Naruto of all people.

When Kakashi came, he could sense the animosity. During the small mission that allowed for them to split up, Naruto explained how the situation went.

"I see. That is quite the problem that I don't even think I can help solve. Sasuke and Ino are incredibly stubborn. You should know what that's like."

Naruto nodded with arms crossed, accepting of his stubborn trait. "Ino's too critical on everyone since she's critical on herself. And Sasuke thinks he doesn't owe anyone anything. With attitudes like those, they're bound to clash. I've been thinking of ways to work things out between them, but I'm the one usually causing trouble that they needed to do it, so I'm not sure of what to do with them."

Kakashi was impressed by how insightful Naruto had become of his teammates. It was only to be expected since they have trained hard together for practically four months almost every day.

"I want to fix things, sensei, but that's only if we can get Sasuke to open up. I know it's pushing it for the guy, but I bet even my weird classmate who's into bugs could be more sociable than Sasuke here." He placed his hands on his hips, "If we're going to be a team, then isn't communication important both on and off the field."

Kakashi honestly felt bad for being as impressed as he was at Naruto's consideration. He was usually such a brat, but put him in a situation he could understand well, his good traits would begin to shine. "It is. What do you suppose we do?"

"Well, right now, Ino is too heated to talk that she'll only say nastier stuff that I know must've hurt Sasuke's pride, so just for now, we should let them cool off. And then we could have a group chat or something and we'll act as that guy who keeps things peaceful."

"The mediator?"

"Yeah! That! You'd think it work."

"We won't know unless we try."

And so for the next few days, Ino and Sasuke remained not talking to each other directly, but their teamwork during a mission remained flawless. They knew exactly how to keep personal issues aside to complete their goal, and when Naruto would act out of hand and argue with either of them, they still played the mediator role, but refrain from really scolding each other. It would be a sign that they cared for the other and was wielding from their fight.

The fight went on for over a week that Naruto wasn't sure of what to do. He was glad that their fight didn't disrupt missions but their lack of communication was very troublesome. Kakashi and him considered working things out with a talk, but when they tried to sneakily make them during lunch, they would glare at them because they knew full well of what they were trying to do. Kakashi then figured it was best that they figured this out on their own.

Naruto wasn't satisfied with that so he approached team 10 about the issue since he didn't know anyone else who could. Inoma and Kakashi both figured that it would resolve on its own, but that wasn't good enough for Naruto.

"Yeah, we know 'bout sis n' emo boy fighting. It was bound ta happen." Inoni told him while they were enjoying barbecue.

"Do you know anyway to fix it?" The boy still hoped for an answer.

Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag. Naruto, helping stubborn people is a pointless effort. You just have to wait until one of them wears down, and it better be Sasuke since he's the one being the asshole."

"I know," Naruto wasn't denying it. "I mean he could've dodged the subject without getting Ino upset. We've been a team for four months now. He should've known better."

Inoni supposed, "Maybe whatever sis said really got on his nerves. I mean it involved pinky."

"Her name is Sakura! Not pinky!"

"Whatever." Inoni ignored his growls. "Anyway I'd be also annoyed if one of you guys suggested to date someone else to make giving up easier. Even if I'm not in love with ya, I don't want ya to just throw me at someone just so you can care for me less."

"But it's not like Ino doesn't care at all."

"No, but it's still annoying. Everyone likes ta be desired when it isn't obsessive. But that's how I feel but I ain't emotionally stunted like your guy. Why don't you talk to him 'bout it instead of crying over to us."

"I didn't come here crying! And talking to Sasuke...I think Kakashi-"

"Really? You're relying on your sensei?" Inoni and even Shikamaru were looking at him in disappointment. "Guy whose reason for being late is that he was lost on the road to life is supposed to give direction?"

"He's a good sensei!"

"But does the situation really calls for that type of sensei?" Shikamaru questioned.

Naruto faltered. "You're right."

Asuma who was present just sipped his tea. Do children these days really have no respect for their sensei? Well...it was them after all.

._._._.

Sasuke huffed for air as he stared at the hole he put in a boulder. He was finally able to hold a chidori's form in his hand, meaning he mastered the lightning natured chakra.

"Good job. You now have mastered both the fire and lightning natured chakra. Something only someone of the chuunin level would be able to accomplish." Kakashi complimented him. "Yet your focus seem to continue to lag."

Sasuke glared at him. "Just spout out whatever you have to say."

"Fair enough. It's about your little fight with Ino."

"It's not a fight."

"Fine. We won't call it a fight. However, are you really okay leaving things the way they are?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Good point. You and Ino still perform perfectly as a team with even someone as unpredictable as Naruto. It's truly a shame to lose a valuable teammate over something petty."

Sasuke glared at the man harder, knowing exactly what he was doing. But...Sasuke couldn't deny that he was right. The fight was stupid, but she was a great team member, and being on her bad side was surprisingly more annoying than being on her annoying good side.

Kakashi easily read the boy's face, and held a small smile behind his mask. "Alright. Let's continue to work on your speed. You're still far too slow."

._._._.

The next day on a mission, Sasuke refused to look at Naruto who was staring at him with an obvious expression that screamed, 'I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WITH YOU BUT I DON'T KNOW WHEN'S THE RIGHT TIME!'. Ino and Kakashi were aware of it, but ignored it until the mission was over. They left immediately with Ino barely ever giving Sasuke a glance.

"Soooo Sasuke..." Naruto looked away from him finally with very thin lips that his face looked like a frog gone wrong. "Do you wanna talk?"

Sasuke gave him the privilege to be taken into consideration in silence, but then answered, "No."

"Ah! Uhm...But..." Naruto's face just got creepier. Sasuke walked away which flipped a switch for Naruto to act more normal. "Hey! Don't walk away from me! I'm talkin' to ya here!"

"Talking? Or stuttering like an idiot?"

"I'm talking to the idiot! Man! No wonder Ino's so mad at you! You have seriously no respect for anyone!"

"Is that all you wanted to say?"

"No! But obviously words mean nothing to ya, so I'm gonna hammer into ya with my fists!" Naruto charged and the two engaged in combat.

Sasuke immediately saw a shift in Naruto's taijutsu skills. The boy was far lighter on his feet and he was far more protective of his core yet his cleverness remained in his movement. Sasuke couldn't help smirking at the improvement. "Hmph. Did Ino's grandpa teach you that?"

"Ima-sensei certainly pounded it into me!" Naruto declared proudly as he summoned his clones.

The fight went on until nightfall when the two could no longer stand. They remained lying on the grass with their heads facing each other. Naruto was still beaten black and blue while Sasuke was left with only a few scratches and bruises. The blonde boy had his Uzumaki bloodline to thank for lasting as long as he did against Sasuke, but he was still determined to get better beyond his bloodline. Sasuke doubted he could catch up with how he was improving much faster with Kakashi as his sensei.

"So hey, why don't you fix things with Ino yet?" Naruto finally asked. His tired form making it easier for him to open up to Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed out. He figured that this was what the idiot wanted to talk about. "Fix what? She's the one overreacting."

"Ino can be pretty ridiculous, huh." Naruto smiled at the thought of how she freaked out at being covered in mud during one of their missions. "But...I don't think she's being ridiculous this time. She was really hurt, Sasuke. Because she doesn't think you respect her. Care about her. Ino likes to act all put together, but..." Naruto think back to how when he was shopping with Ino, the girl had noticed a group of females hanging out together. Ino stared at them with a wistful, envious gaze in silence, but when Naruto bothered her thoughts, she reverted back to her energetic self as if nothing was wrong. "She's actually really sensitive deep down."

Sasuke thought back to how Ino was the one who took control to make sure they worked as a team. Being the one who scolded them yet knowing when to point out her own faults and apologize. She remained strong despite being injured and worked even harder to not let it happen again. Even now, despite how Sasuke may have hurt her, she still stood strong as a kunoichi.

The boys laid there, staring at the stars above them. Naruto soon groaned at his pain and complained like a child, and for some reason it was funny. They knew that they became hysterical but they couldn't help laughing together. They truly worn each other out.

Kakashi and Ino soon came to them with Ino's medical kit and dinner. Their sensei had returned at some point and watched them. Ino had became worried and kept watching their chakras before finally coming over. "Seriously, you two! It's the dead of night and we still have a mission tomorrow. I can't handle neither of you alone if you hurt each other badly enough!" She scolded them. She worked on Sasuke's wounds first with her ninjutsu, but refused to look him in the eye. Her focus remained on Naruto. "Just be glad that you heal quickly because I'm not going to use up all my chakra to heal you! Honestly, I should turn into a brain surgeon so I can fix that head of yours!"

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! I get it!" He yelled out annoyed, and then mumbled, "You can stop yapping now."

"Is that how you're supposed to treat your support?!" Ino grabbed him by the collar roughly, shaking him until he proceeded to apologize.

Sasuke frowned at her. He second-questioned whether he should apologize or not. He didn't want her to think he had a heart. He didn't want to know he still had one. The hair on his back felt like they were standing erect and cold that he felt weak to follow through with the apology after all. But his tired form caused by Naruto made him too tired to care about weakness or heart. His brain just wanted the sweet release from the problem.

"Ino..." The girl stopped shaking Naruto but didn't look at Sasuke. "...I didn't mean to hurt you. What you told me at the festival was absolutely unnecessary, and it shouldn't have upset me as much as it did. But I guess it did, and I supposed the reason why is because I don't want to be told by someone like you to do something even more unnecessary to make it easier for you."

"I understand." Ino admitted. "And I wanted to apologize. You know I'm the type who runs her mouth, and I'm trying not to do that. I didn't mean to hurt you, either."

Sasuke thought she would turn to him finally, but she remained looking away. "I guess we both need to learn to use our words more carefully."

Ino nodded. "We do. But Sasuke...I know you went through a horrible tragedy which is part of the reason why you act cold as you do, but I won't enable your kind of attitude. I won't let you disrespect me and think 'Oh he's already gone through so much'. Just like Naruto," She caresses the jinchuuriki's cheek with her medical ninjutsu. "I'm going to see you for the asshole you are and won't stand for it."

Naruto smirked at Ino, loving her more for the fact that she never let their faults escape her wrath because she loved them.

Sasuke continued to frown yet his downcast eyes showed a hint of guilt. Ino suddenly turned to him and said, "Your apology was terrible but thank you for trying." She kissed his cheek and then returned to heal Naruto again. The Uchiha was surprised by the kiss and he wiped it off.

Kakashi smiled at this.

The teamwork had certainly strengthen as Inoma expected. Sasuke was a goal for Naruto to become stronger and also a help for Ino to keep Naruto in line. Naruto was someone who understood Sasuke deep down and someone who gave Ino the long-awaited friendship that isn't planned through traditions. And Ino continues to teach the boys to become better men and ninjas with her own knowledge of family and being a shinobi.

It was slowly but surely truly coming together.

On their day off the next day, Ino and Naruto appeared before Sasuke's house. "Huh. What do you guys want?"

Naruto snickered deviously. His face putting on that weird greedy fat cat face once again. "Hey, don't you think it's time."

"What?"

"Y'know." He got too close for the emo boy's comfort. "To see Kakashi's face."

Sasuke huffed, "That's a waste of time. I'm not interested. I'm going for a walk." He proceeded to walk away, but Naruto asked, "What if...he has thick lips?" That stopped the boy in his tracks. Ino joined in with her own lesser but still creepy face, "Or buck teeth?" Sasuke began to sway. The two blondes than asked together, "Or maybe...a swirly mustache."

Sasuke twitched as he reluctantly looked back at them. Ino and Naruto giggled together as they grabbed their friend's wrists and they ran off to their new mission.

._._._.

A/N: So I know that I left Sakura cold in this chapter, but she'll be back in the next one, so don't worry!

This chapter was more to establish the friendship within the teamwork where it centers more on Sasuke. I'm honestly not sure if I am getting his character right because Sasuke's emotions are a mess. He cares for Naruto but also hates him, and he kinda forms a friendship but also denies it. He's a dick but a good team member. I just don't know when he would be honest or an ass because the manga makes him show his more human side at random and sometimes awkward moments. But I do believe he would've tried to knock down any friendship due to ptsd from his older brother. He knows what he must do to get on Itachi's level, but it's complicated as fuck. He wants to become an avenger of hatred but forming friends kinda softens that determination. He's only twelve. He can't balance that sort of complicated emotions and ideas even if he's a genius.

And I centered this chapter more on Ino and Sasuke fighting because when Naruto and Sasuke fight at this age, it's more physical than it is emotional whereas Ino focuses more on emotion. I feel like Sasuke would be honest with her about his dreams and passion since that's what he's made of while Ino would want to give him more so he could seek happiness. Yet it went wrong where Sasuke had to actually face the issue with friendship, and Kakashi and Naruto helped wear him down to get along with Ino.

And this chapter was also a test to how Naruto would handle the situation. He's very observant but also awkward since he's used to being the one scolded, so as not perfect as it was, at least he tried the best way he knew how.

Thanks for reading this imperfect chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This is to introduce more OCs and of the original characters that'll be relevant later, and also a bit...Anti-Sakura. I'm sorry Guest (for this later reply)! I'm tempted with Naruino, but...maybe...

And Oh my god! I'm so glad you guys like Inoma!

._._._.

After the failed mission to get to see Kakashi's face, team 7 without their sensei went to Inoma's mountain to tell him about the progress their teamwork went through.

Inoma smiled softly at them. Ino looked over to Sasuke with an excited smile, "We still have a long way to go before our teamwork is perfect, but we definitely became stronger."

"Hell yeah! Thanks to you, I was close to beating Sasuke!"

"Hmph. In your dreams."

"What was that!"

Ino ignored their usual bickering. "Anyway, I bought this." She took out a camera and a video camera from her bag.

Inoma rose an eyebrow at the devices. "What's that?"

Naruto was surprised, "You don't know what cameras are?"

"I only know what children will tell me."

Ino explained, "Dad told me that it's not illegal, but taking pictures can be dangerous. A lot of the villagers in Konoha don't know about grandpa, but if they did, it may bring up unwanted feelings towards the Yamanaka clan. Buuuuut, Kakashi-sensei never got the chance to see you and just one video recording and a few pictures couldn't hurt." She set up the gizmos and explained to her grandfather of how it worked. She took the first picture, and the photo popped out.

Inoma softly gasped at how the machine captured his appearance. He stared at the picture with child-like eyes as he rubbed the photo with his thumbs. Naruto stood very close to him to inspect his expression. Ino hit his head for his rudeness and pulled him away. Inoma's eyes glittered with amazement. "This is so crisp!"

"Crisp?"

"It's an expression back then!" Inoma continued to stare at the image of himself. "As villagers of the leaf, anything that you called cool was crisp back then as an ode to the fun texture and sounds of the autumn leaves! Man! Mito would've loved this! Or was it built before she died? It would've been so crisp to take a picture with everyone! When I was put here, I only took a few of my own belongings with me. Back then, we had to be painted. Do you want to see them?"

"Seriously?! Let's go!" Naruto was all set and the two of them went over to one of the many caves of the mountain. There, Inoma took out a well compacted chest that she opened with one of the many keys she had for a necklace. A ton of scrolls and drawings were inside. "They were all drawn by a special painter who used oils that would make sure that all the painting not become smudged or faded if the paper became damp." He unrolled some of them on the floor. There was a map of Konoha before it expanded into the huge village it was today. There were drawings of the first hokage with his wife and Inoma's best friend Mito. Naruto's eyes sparkled at the sight of her. "Her hair was red."

"The Uzumaki clan were mostly red heads. I bet your own mother was a red head, too. Back then, red hair wasn't popular. Neither was blonde hair like mine."

Ino haven't heard of this, "What did people in the past have against light hair colors?"

"It was actually rare to have that color of hair. A majority of clans had black, brown or white hair colors. Even today, a majority of your classmates had darker hair colors didn't they."

The three thought back. Ino realized, "Now that you mention it, only Naruto and I were the blondes in our class."

"Ah! You're right! And isn't it weird how we were the only one with blue eyes."

"My eyes are more of a greenish blue actually if you look at them."

Naruto got closer to inspect them. "Oh right! Your eyes do show some green just like Sakura's! And when you put it like that, Sakura has pink hair like her dad. Is that a Haruno clan thing?"

"It is. The Haruno clan is actually one of the brightest clans in the village, having the mental capacity to handle any information."

"So she's smarter than Sasuke?" Naruto inquired.

"Intelligence is far more broad than you think. The Haruno clan have what you guys would call 'book smarts'. Your friend Sakura can handle remembering information she read off a book than she can during a training session. I worked with their clan members. Their ninja skills are only average, but their ability to remember information to the tee made them valuable. Many times we have been able to infiltrate into enemy base, and we would act as if we lost or couldn't obtain the scroll filled with the information we needed when at truth the Haruno clan member had it all memorized in less than a minute. But shhh." Inoma winked with a finger to his lips. "If you tell anyone this trick, you'll lose the advantage."

"Oh wow! I knew Sakura was not only pretty but wow, I didn't know she had that kind of brain! I'm a little jealous!"

Ino smirked, "But her ninja skills are still below average. If her teammates are doing her any justice, then they have to be average by now."

"There's nothing to worry about! If she's in trouble, I'll come to her rescue!"

Ino gave him a doubtful smile, but she let him dream the dream. Her eyes then laid on a team in particular. "Grandpa, who are these three?"

"Hm?" He looked to the drawings. "Oh, I believe I told you a little about them Ino, but forgot to show you the paintings. That's my own squad of genins that I personally taught and my only one, but I wasn't assigned to them."

"Huh?" The three children looked at him curiously that it was too cute.

The old man told the story, "As the schools were forming at the time, things such as teams of three and tests were just being introduced and just about anyone who wanted to become a shinobi was able to enter. Even those who couldn't do ninjutsu or genjutsu since it was still in such a work and progress stage. But when the Third and his classmates were the very first class to go through a graduation in the academy and the test to become genins, my pupils were the least wanted. They were the failures of the class that were just put together so they didn't drag the other more so-called gifted students with them. If you were born at such a time Naruto, you wouldn't have been teamed up with Ino or Sasuke."

The boy frowned at this, but he knew deep down he deserved to be in this team and that he could do better. Inoma smiled down at him lovingly for his passion and his eyes became reminiscent of the times.

"None of the new sensei wanted them, so I stepped in and took them under my wing. Their names were Miku Haruno, Might Kurai and Muyou Hyuuga.

"Muyou (useless)?" Naruto was surprised by that name. "Who would call their child useless?"

"The Hyuuga clan have a very strict class system within their clan. Muyou was born of a lower class, and his spiteful parents put their hatred onto him. They didn't bat an eye when I legally adopted him from them, but...Well, let's not start with sordid memories." Inoma sadly smiled before turning back the conversation. "Miku Haruno was brilliant and beautiful like how you told me about your friend Sakura, Ino. Her hair was a magenta pink like zinnias and her eyes were a hazel green like their center. She could remember anything I taught her, but putting it into action was a lot harder. She had an inferiority complex for her face so she always wore a mask, but she was just as determined to become strong like Might Kurai and she lead them like a true leader."

"Might Kurai was pretty much the exact opposite. His looks were bizarre to even me, but his courageous and good heart made him infectious to love. He was my favorite student despite the fact that he couldn't use genjutsu or ninjutsu."

"Oh! So that's the student Ino told me about!" Naruto remembered.

Inoma nodded. "Yamanaka are supposed to act as support so our taijutsu should've been our weakest trait, but just like Inoni, I couldn't take that kind of role. My training was three times more intense than Shikano's or Chochura's. I trained both my mind, my will and my body to uphold the usage of my Yamanaka techniques but also as a close combat fighter."

Ino told the boys, "You guys wouldn't understand how intense that is to try to become a long-to-close-range fighter all in one. Even Inoni is struggling with balancing that sort of training."

"Wow, I never considered you were working that hard." Naruto admitted.

"Considering that I'm not paired with Shikamaru and Choji, I thought I had to since I didn't know where this team was going, and considering what happened at the Country of Waves, I have to keep up with that training to not be left that vulnerable again." Ino wasn't aware that those words would trigger guilt into her teammates until their expressions changed. "Oh! But I know you guys will definitely watch out for me now! It was a whole new experience after all, so no biggie! Alright!" That still didn't make them feel better.

Inoma just continued after holding back his laughter. "Aaaah, Kurai-kun was definitely a very observant boy. He always had his teammates backs and used himself as a shield for them even if it meant giving his life. If a team needed a sacrifice, he was the one who volunteered without hesitation or fear. He was truly a shinobi who would do anything for the sake of others. He instilled that sort of confidence in both Miku and even Mumu who had no confidence whatsoever. He only joined the academy to get an excuse to leave home for as much as he could without getting in trouble. He had no faith whatsoever in his byakugan. He was the hardest to teach, but he was worth it. He taught me where the vital chakra areas in the bodies were that I could create my special acupuncture technique."

That caught Sasuke's attention. "Acupuncture technique?"

Inoma took out several acupuncture needles from his sleeve. "If someone had rough chakra flows, I would help open them with my needles. Mumu didn't want to practice his clan's fighting style, so I made him into a needle and poison expert. While the Hyuuga clan are supposed to be close-combat fighters, Mumu became a long-to-mid range fighter, Kurai being our close-range fighter, and Miku being versatile in either position that she needed to fill with her quick decision-skills. But despite how much talent they presented, they never made it to the chuunin ranks."

"What?!" Naruto was deeply shocked. "Why?!"

Inoma frowned, "A chuunin is a military ranked captain. They're the ones in charge of leading a team into missions with the high possibility of engaging into combat. Miku Haruno showed great skills to become a chuunin but due to her involvement with us, her chances were stunted. During the chuunin exams, Mumu's new techniques came to light and this outraged the Hyuuga clan. They demanded that the first took him out of my legal care. For lack of better words, I declined so it became complicated. The Hyuuga clan threatened to leave Konoha if I didn't bow down to their demands, but I still refused. Tori-asshole-rama tried to legally get him out of my care, and even threatened to have me incarcerated. The whole village told me to give him back, but I continued to refuse. To make sure that Mumu remained safe and my clan wasn't affected by my actions, we hid at this very mountain. Here, the top Hyuuga members came and tried to take Mumu by force. My students, Shikano, Chochura and Mito came to my aid, and we were able to take them down. This only intensified the clan's anger, and Tobi-shitface sent his own forces against us. The entire village shook when we battled. People nearly died, but I wasn't going to relent even when Mumu cried for me not to." Righteous anger shone in his violet-blue eyes. "I was willing to kill the future second hokage if that was what it took. But it actually took fighting their leader in one-on-one combat without weapons. My Yamanaka techniques weren't going to be useful either, so I was left with taijutsu. Something the Hyuuga clan excelled at."

"You can't be serious! That's cheating!" Naruto couldn't believe it!

"It was, but I accepted. At the time before the fated battle, my hair was reaching my ankles, but all the way to my scalp, I cut it in one go before my students. I picked up strands of my hair and told them that if the red string of fate connected you to your soul mate, then the golden one must be connected to your dearest of friends. People who you can truly call your family. I tied their pinky fingers with my hair. I did the same for each person in my clan who believed in me, the same for those in the Nara and Akamichi clan. Mito accepted without hesitation even if she was the First's wife." Inoma closed his eyes with a pleased smile. "And for the battle, it was tough. I entered the arena with just my boar skull helmet and pants, and the leader was wearing a hakama. When it started, everyone was surprised by how graceful and skilled I was since they never saw me use my Yamanaka skills on the field. When I knocked their leader down without a scratch, things got pretty intense. The guy got to break my helmet off, and the whole audience gasped when they saw what happened to my hair. It was ridiculous! Ah, but the best part was when I beat the idiot! Since that day, I was the most hated person of the Hyuuga clan. But the story is so embarrassing, I doubt anyone in the clan knows about this."

Ino shook her head, "I did get some dirty looks from our Hyuuga classmate's dad a few times, so I think the story is secretly passed down."

"Good. It'll put some damn humility into their shitty system." The man relaxed after telling such an intense story. "So because of all this, my students couldn't become chuunin. Their defiance with me made them unreliable as leaders, but they didn't mind at all. They were still ninjas, and they were grateful because that meant they could still see me after I was put here. Mumu went on to work for the Yamanaka flower shop until I was reported to by Ino's actual grandpa that he died of old age. Kurai died during the first world war, protecting his teammates to the very end. Miku sadly died first among us due to a medical condition that no one knew the cure for until twenty-two years later. But she lived a fulfilling life and was strong to the very end."

After that, Inoma put back the drawings, and he showed them the boar skull helmets he wore for a majority of his time. Turns out that because of his misguiding feminine beauty, he had to wear it. But after falling in love with his Uchiha sweet heart, he revealed his face as a symbol that he had met his true love. Ino then proceeded to take more pictures of her grandpa and with all of them together. She considered a video recording, but Inoma told her pictures should be enough.

The three then left after eating dinner to head home.

Naruto was smiling widely, thinking back to how Inoma's team, despite the tragedies, lived and died doing what they loved. "I really like Inoma's students. I hope our team ends up that way."

"You want one of us to die of a medical condition?" Ino jokingly inquired that it got a small chuckle from Sasuke.

"No! I meant do what we wanted until we die!" Naruto clarified, "All three of them weren't wanted at all, but they became someone worth respect and lived happily with loved ones. It's kinda like us."

Ino corrected, "It kinda like you guys. I never suffered."

"Well, yeah...but you're still lonely like the rest of us." Naruto pointed out, thinking back to how Ino frowned a the sight of a group of female friends.

Ino was surprised to be told that. It left her confused, "I don't get what you're talking about Naruto. I'm not lonely."

"Well, you do have a big loving family but you don't actually have anyone who really gets you and your mom is always busy doing something else, and she's not your actual mom to begin with. Sakura was your friend, but she chose to be your rival instead, and now you have no one who you can really talk to or shop with. Hanging out with you, I realized that you were popular back in the academy with pretty much everyone like Sasuke, but you never hung out with any of them. In fact, a lot of the girls said some pretty mean stuff behind your back."

"It comes with being that privileged girl, but I'm not lonely in the sense that you are. It's not a big problem." Ino said that as the end of the discussion but Naruto pointed out, "What's with that kinda talk? Just because you're better off than I am doesn't mean your problem doesn't matter."

"It's not that it doesn't matter, but it's not like I can fix it. If girls are going to despise me for just being me, then their friendship is something I can live without." Ino kept a strong face, but Sasuke and Naruto could tell that Ino wasn't truly fine with it. But they didn't know how else to argue. It's not like they can fix the problem unless Ino changes herself, but change what? The problem wasn't her flaws but her perfections and that's something they can't ask her to let go.

Back home, Ino entered her room. She couldn't believe Naruto had the nerve to call her lonely. She had a big family who were all loving and supportive. She belonged to a prestigious clan that was close to the Hokage. She had a place in life with goals that she was working hard towards. She was...perfect.

And yet felt so incomplete and insecure. After changing into her pajamas, she brushed her hair on her bed. Her eyes caught the picture she had on her night table. It was a picture of her and Sakura smiling together happily back before they became rivals.

 _"Ino, I heard that you like Sasuke. From now on we're rivals."_

The first few days of their rivalry was silent yet tense. All the girls were surprised that they weren't sitting next to each other like before, and that they even looked hatefully at each other. They thought it was just a fight between friends but after lasting longer than over a week, they asked them about it. Ino didn't know how to answer at that moment. It was especially harder since Sakura was in the same room.

So to avoid the whole thing, she coolly told them that what they had between them was nothing of concern. That must've struck a nerve with Sakura because she openly shouted at her, _"I-Is that what you think, y-you! I-_ _ **INO-PIG**_ _!"_ Ino's eyes widened at the first ever insult that was thrown to her face. Sakura was lucky that Inoni left with the boys during their recess because she would've smacked her, but no, Ino was left to react to this.

The whole class of girls gasped at this because they trashed talk about Ino behind her back that this was the first time it was in front of her face. Ino was so deeply hurt and confused yet she still loved Sakura so much, so she just gave in to this name calling until it felt natural. Only they were allowed to insult each other, and the whole class knew that so stayed away. So as messed up as this whole thing became, it became something special between them. Yet...Ino felt lonely. All the girls her age despised her, those younger idolized her, her step-mother was always busy during the day and was far too proper to really connect with, and Inoni was too much of a boy to have a girl's day with. They may be connected mentally, but there was still such a difference she was far too aware of.

She thought that she was being selfish for having such feelings. She had so much. She shouldn't be asking for more.

._._._.

After another mission success, Sasuke went off with Kakashi for further training. Ino had already accomplished becoming a medical ninja at the hospital where she could handle bigger injuries on the battle field now, so her time was free and she knew exactly what she wanted to do. "Hey Naruto, do you know who's birthday's coming up?" She asked excitedly.

The whiskered boy cocked his head to the side. "Uh, yours?"

"Nope! It's Sasuke's! His birthday is on the twenty-third. It's three days from now, and I figured it would be a good time for us to get him a birthday present together. I know he's not one for parties, so we'll have a small one with team 7 and probably even Iruka at his favorite restaurant that makes the tastiest of onigiri. I already have a present, but I knew you wouldn't know, so I'll help you find one."

"A present for Sasuke? Why would I get him one?"

That ticked off Ino. "Because he's your teammate and friend! Geeze! Didn't you make a whole speech about it?!"

"I did?" Naruto played stupid, having Ino head lock him and yelling in his ear as punishment for his attitude.

But they stopped when they heard some shuffling. They looked back to see a strangely shaped rock that was supposed to blend in with the paved road. Ino let go of Naruto and they stared at it for a moment before ignoring it. However, the thing began following them. Naruto more specifically. Being the Naruto he was, he tested if it was following him, and it was.

"Alright! Enough already! I already know it's you Konohamaru! Just because you made the rock look more realistic this time, doesn't mean I wouldn't see the two obvious holes on there!"

Konohamaru revealed himself with his squad. "Hey Big brother Naruto! Are you free today?!"

"Uh sorry. I have to go with Ino to get a present."

"What?! But you promised to play ninja with us!" The kid reminded him with his teammates nodding their heads, and it looked like Naruto did make that promise by his flinch.

Ino smiled at how cute it was for Naruto to play with kids younger than him. "Sorry, Konohamaru, but our friend's birthday is coming up soon, and Naruto needs to pick out a present now or he'll forget and get something lame."

"Hey! I can pick a good present! I just don't see why I have to shop for that guy!" The blue-eyed boy defended himself.

"Ah! Big sister Ino!" Konohamaru knew her since he was Asuma's nephew, and family gatherings gave them opportunities to see each other. They weren't close, but since she was close to Naruto, Konohamaru began the whole 'Big sister' thing which Ino didn't mind. It was pretty cute. "Then if it's a present, we can help!" They offered but Naruto shut them down, "Sorry but we're not shopping for little kids."

"Who're ya calling a little kid!"

"I think it's a great idea." Ino believed. "You did make a promise Naruto to spend time with them, so in this way, everyone wins."

"But I don't win! I just wanna train with Inoma-sensei!"

"Tough luck. Let's go."

Ino walked away with the kids following her. Naruto dragged himself behind. The five of them went to different clothing and weapon shops 'oohing and awing' at everything they saw. Naruto tried not to have fun, but Konohamaru pulled a little prank on him that got him riled up and then he was pulled into doing a fashion show with the kids while Ino watched. They were supposed to be shopping for Sasuke, but instead they ended up shopping for themselves. Moegi bought a pair of cute hair clips, Ino bought Udon some medicine to help with his snot dripping problem, and Konohamaru got some pants. They then went to the park where they played together. Ino and Moegi were chatting up about fashion and training as a kunoichi while the boys were also talking about training, which somehow turned into a heavy debate about who truly deserved the number one spot as the sexiest swimsuit model.

When Konohamaru revealed his sexy jutsu, Ino punched Naruto for teaching a young boy such an indecent jutsu. The two got into an argument about how Konohamaru had to be raised. The kids started crying for them to stop with Konohamaru promising to only use the jutsu for good. Ino didn't see how in any situation that jutsu could be used for good, but at least the boy was going to try to be smart with it.

After that drama, they bought them ice cream to cheer them up. They then went up to the Hokage rock to watch the sunset with Naruto and Konohamaru claiming to being the next hokage someday.

Ino smiled at the idiots. They may have not finished their mission, but they still had two more days.

They then dropped the kids home.

"Man, kids are expensive." Naruto pouted as his frog wallet that wasn't empty but less than he liked.

"Hey, you were the one who offered to buy Konohamaru those pants." Ino pointed out with a cheeky smile.

Naruto looked away blushing, "That's because that idiot doesn't know how to take care of his pants. I bet he's making his mom scrub them till morning to get those stains off."

"Oh don't hide it. You were proud by how hard he worked that you wanted to reward him."

"What?! No way! I don't care what that brat does in his spare time. He doesn't have to imitate me."

Ino inwardly giggled at his shyness. So there was a cute side to that tsundereness Naruto had. "Well, here's where we split. I had a lot of fun, today, Naruto."

"Oh, I did too."

"Let's try buying Sasuke a present tomorrow, alright." She winked at him.

Naruto groaned. "But I don't wanna buy him a present!" he continued to grumble but when he thought about today, he couldn't help smiling. It truly was fun.

._._._.

The next day, both Ino and Sasuke were early to the meeting that they knew their sensei would be late for, but their pride as a ninja made them appear. Naruto usually came in time unless he set his alarm clock. Ino told Sasuke about the time her and Naruto had with the kids yesterday without spilling what their objective was. Sasuke bothered to listen since it was amusing to know about how Naruto did with kids whose ages matched his mentality.

After finishing the story, Ino asked Sasuke what he thought about kids. The boy admitted that they were a nuisance which was no surprise, and Ino somewhat agreed since kids can be annoying. She was about to talk about a whole new other story involving them that led to flower shop chaos, but then to their surprise, Kiba and Akamaru appeared with Shino.

"Hey you guys! Long time no see!" The dog person greeted with a happy bark from the fur ball.

"Kiba! Shino! What brings you guys here?" Ino happily asked. They weren't close, but Ino was always cheery to see classmates. Sasuke just paid attention in case something would catch his interest.

"We just came back from a mission earlier, and planned with team 2 (Sakura's team) to hang out with your sister and her team since we're all going to be free. Wished you guys were free, too. It's been awhile since we hung out."

"I know right! It's been months. What do you guys plan on doing?"

"We figured we'd just hang out at Shikamaru's family's forest to just chill and hang. But team 2 said that they had business with you before they'd hang out with us. Don't know what business you guys have, but Shino and I figured we'd come here to confirm on something. We've been hearing a rumor that you and Naruto were going out! Congratulations!"

"WHAAAAAAT?!" Ino and Naruto who just appeared screamed. Sasuke inwardly cursed. He hoped this rumor would just blow away so this didn't have to happen.

"ME AND NARUTO?!" Ino rasped in distress.

Naruto was the same. "ME AND INO?!"

The two blondes looked at each other and were disgusted, "EEEEEEW!"

"We're not dating!" Ino yelled.

"Yeah! We're like siblings! That's just gross man!" Naruto agreed.

Shino reminded them, "That's why he said it was a rumor. Why? The whole village thinks you two are dating because you would spend a lot of time together with neither your sensei or your other teammate."

"THAT'S CUZ THEY'RE TOTALLY ANTI-SOCIAL!" The blondes yelled in unison. Sasuke grimaced at their rudeness.

"What! Just cuz we're a boy and girl, we can't spend time together?!" Ino inquired.

"That's just so low. What scum made up this lie?" Naruto demanded an answer.

Sasuke provided, "It was Sakura." Everyone was surprised. "She saw you two together, and she made her own assumptions. Spreading it around the village as if it would make it true if she did."

Ino asked, "Why would she do that?"

"Why do you think? If you date Naruto, then she thinks she'll have a chance with me."

"Sakura would never do that! Right Ino?" Naruto thought she'd agree, but Ino wasn't listening. She seemed shocked and even hurt that Naruto became worried, "Ino?"

The girl snapped out of her reaction, remembering where she was. "Ah... I need a moment." Ino walked away. Naruto was shocked by her reaction. He didn't want to believe that Sakura did this, but if it was true, then Ino was hurt, and Naruto hated that. But he didn't want to think that Sakura was a bad person. She must've had her reasons.

"Wow," Kiba spoke up, cutting the tension, "I figured they hated each other, but Sakura really reached a whole new low."

That broke Naruto out of his conflicted feelings to defend Sakura, which led to him getting into an argument with Kiba and Sasuke, leaving Shino ignored.

As for Ino, she went to one of the many bridges of konoha where little people passed by. Inoni appeared since she sensed her, and since she sensed Kiba being near her group, it was not a riddle to be figured out.

"Yo. You heard the rumor huh."

Ino groaned, planting her head on her forearms on the rail. "I can't believe Sakura did that to me. I get why she did it, but that's a whole new low! I can't believe her!"

"What's there not to believe?" The elder twin got on the bridge's rail. "I told you before haven't I. That girl plays dirty to get what she wants."

"But we were friends! If we switched positions, I wouldn't spread a rumor that she was dating Naruto!"

"She'd kill whisker boy if that happened." The tomboy said more to herself before saying, "Besides, isn't it obvious that that two-faced bitch don't give a shit about friendship. That girl hangs out with nobody, and drags the team down. Daira and Kunose (Sakura's teammates) told me so that Sakura barely gives a fuck to being an actual ninja."

"What di..." Ino sighed. She really had no place to defend that girl now. Inoni got down and rubbed her back.

"Okay, got out of hand there. But hey," The elder sister pointed out, "You got better friends now. That Naruto kid ain't half-bad. He'll definitely get over Pinkie this way."

Ino half-heartedly sobbed and groaned. "I thought that if I kept this whole clan-rule-thing a secret, it would inspire Sakura to train harder. But all it did was turn her into a bad friend. Did she really think she'll win by just putting me out of the picture?"

"She's 'book-smarts' remember. She knows this shit but ain't a natural in going by them." Inoni sighed. "Forget her. She's done nothing but wronged you. She broke your friendship. She turned your rivalry into a bad drama, and now she's doing stuff behind your back. She ain't no wicked demon, but she's a backstabbing bitch who deserves to have no friends."

"You're going too far again. It's not like the rumors are playing me out as a horrible person, but to go behind my back to manipulate my love life by lying to everyone? Does dad know about this?"

"Oh yeah. Everyone does, but some don't give a shit, others needed to get their shit together -dad- and you know how kids and old people are like."

Ino's shoulders continued to droop in dissatisfaction. "And you didn't bother to tell me because?"

Inoni lightly shrugged, "Like everyone else who actually knew a thing about you and blondie, we didn't give a fuck and forgot about it."

"Makes sense. I guess this doesn't really change anything. The village was bound to make the rumors whether or not Sakura started it." Ino felt herself calm down. She decided to go back to her team with Inoni. When they got back, Sakura's teammates were there, and they didn't look happy. Naruto looked angry and Sasuke was annoyed. Kiba and Shino were just spectators.

"Daira? Kunose? What are you two doing here?" Ino asked.

Naruto answered for them, "Ino, hear this! These guys are trying to get Sasuke to date Sakura!" He was whacked by the back of a chained sickle by Daira who scolded him for his poor choice of paraphrasing.

"We only asked that Sasuke acted a little nice to our depressed teammate because he stated cruel words to her the other day. We hoped that she would return to her normal state eventually, but she hadn't bothered to recover into a tolerable state."

Kunose yawned, "No apologies or false pleasantries needed!" She smacked her lips, brushing away her tired tears with her hands. "Just say that you recognize her other skills as a ninja, and she'll live off that for months."

Everyone felt purple lines at the the back of the heads. Kiba rhetorically questioned, "What do you even think of your teammate."

"No way!" Naruto loudly objected, "Sakura doesn't need a pick-me-up from mister emo himself!"

"You started a disease." Sasuke sarcastically said to Inoni who grinned.

Ino ignored Naruto to talk to Sasuke, "I think you should do it, Sasuke."

"Ino?!" Naruto and everyone else except for Inoni was shocked.

"I mean I'm furious with what she did! That girl can go and get punched in that big forehead of hers a hundred times! But you really need to be more gentle with girls, Sasuke. Daira and Kunose used up their precious free time to come here because they're worried about their teammate who you hurt. It's unfair if you let one of the new genin teams be disbanded because of you."

"Then good. These two don't need someone who can't aspire herself to be a ninja just because I spoke badly to her a few times." He looked to Sakura's teammates, "And I recognize that right now we have the top five students of the academy here," Daira placed fourth behind Shino while Kunose placed fifth. "and Sakura was put in your team to make up her lacking ability in being a proper kunoichi. It's the same thing for me and Ino with Naruto."

"HEY!"

The blonde was ignored for Sasuke to continue, "If Naruto had the same attitude as Sakura where he can't handle being insulted by his so-called crush, and is willing to put his teammates at a disadvantage, I wouldn't think of trying to convince that crush to sweet talk him just so he can stop being a nuisance."

"Who're you call-" Inoni head locked Naruto so he can stop interrupting this good drama.

"Instead I'd rather drag him and fling his body like a meat shield. If he's going to get himself killed in a mission for his ineptitude, then so be it. We are ninjas now. Not school children or normal civilians. We are expected to face any obstacles in our way, even if it means to die trying."

Sasuke sounded like he had a sound point that everyone agreed, but Ino argued, "But we're still 12 and are normal civilians underneath the ninja. We have normal problems and just bottling up our emotions, ignoring it, or simply thinking you can overcome it by just pure will is not healthy. I get that you don't want to go through the trouble of even thinking you're lying to Sakura, but you do mean a lot to her, Sasuke."

"That's none of my concern. I don't see what she likes about me, and honestly, I'm not interested at all."

Naruto wanted to break through Inoni, but damn, the girl was strong for just being a support in her team.

"That's cold, dude." Kiba commented.

"But it's no surprise." Shino added.

Ino still argued, "Fine, you're not interested. But being a ninja also comes with doing things that are bothersome like all the D-rank and C-rank missions we do. Yeah, we could be doing something we think is better for ourselves, but when it comes down to it, we are doing exactly what being a ninja is about, and that is protecting and supporting one another."

"Hmph." Sasuke huffed. "That's what you think being a ninja is, but for me, it's about getting stronger so that those who wronged you or oppose you won't get in your way to achieve justice."

Daira and Kunose side glanced each other, getting into this argument. The leader spoke, "True words spoken from one who has everything to protect and another who has nothing to lose."

Inoni allowed Naruto to break free. "Hey! We're getting out of topic! We were talking about Sakura! She's sad and depressed, and I won't stand for it!"

Kiba told him, "So why don't you go do something? Not that it's gonna help. She doesn't even like you."

Naruto felt pain from that blunt fact, that he couldn't retort. Inoni glared at the situation and decided to leave. Nobody stopped her because they were sucked into their own novel-like drama episode.

Ino ignored Naruto's passionate yet failed statement to continue arguing with Sasuke, "Yes, being a ninja comes with pursuing justice for those who've been wronged, but your choice to lack in compassion will hinder your ability to instill that justice. You can become powerful, but without compassion there is no restraint and without restraint, you'll ruin what you sought out to do."

"I hear what you're saying, but I don't see why I should still try to cheer up Sakura. You talk about compassion, but like you told me before, you won't enable me to act like the asshole you call me to be. I'm doing the same for Sakura. If I let her believe I recognize the good she does and seem like I'm ignoring the terrible side of her, isn't that enablement. Not compassion."

Ino wanted to win this argument, but Sasuke got her there. Sakura did not do something unforgivable, but she still did a bad thing that can't be overlooked or else it could escalate to something worse. Naruto tried to talk big against Sasuke, but his words were hollow. He was only acting out of affection for Sakura instead of taking in the issue at hand, and he knew it.

With that argument finished, Daira and Kunose decided to drop their half-assed plan and maybe consider going back to the academy or find other disbanded graduates to form their team if Sakura decides to drop out after all. Kiba and Shino followed them to go hang out.

And just about right, Kakashi was greeted to a very unbalanced, awkward atmosphere. Naruto was furious but also defeated. Ino was deeply troubled while Sasuke was silently being considerate to his teammates thinking through whatever problem they had. The sensei anime sweat dropped to this, wondering if his lateness was starting to take a toll on his students.

._._._.

Sakura was blankly staring at the bottom of a well in the middle of a forest. She didn't want to deal with anyone. She believed that they wouldn't understand the pain she felt. All she wanted was for Sasuke to notice her. She just wanted him to notice how hard she worked, so he could fall for her. But life was so unfair. She was the smartest and prettiest girl in the academy. Ino might have been the top student in the academy, but she had every right, too, to be in Sasuke's team. If only she had been placed on his team, then she wouldn't have been so desperate to do what she did.

It wasn't like it wasn't going to happen if she didn't do it! Ino was spending so much time with Naruto and blushing like a girl in love. Ino was so obviously falling for Naruto and was just keeping Sasuke to herself just to piss her off! Sakura though blamed herself for pushing Ino to fight for Sasuke's affections. if she had just noticed the great chemistry that Ino and Naruto made, she would've tried to set those two up.

Oh who was she kidding. She should've been able to get Sasuke even if Ino was on his team. And now because of her own stupid, rash decisions, she dug her own grave. She truly was annoying...

She felt herself fall into despair, but didn't expect to feel it kick her in the butt and push her into the well. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Use chakra idiot!"

Sakura immediately attached her feet to the wall which helped stop her from landing in the water. She also recognized that voice. "INONI! YOU CRAZY HALF-WIT! I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU INTO A PULP WHEN I GET UP THERE! SHANNARO!"

Inoni snorted loudly for her to hear. "I doubt a commoner bitch like you can try."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Sakura bounced through the wall of the well before trying to give Inoni a well-deserved kick. But the blonde dodged her with a mocking smirk, which only fueled the violent girl. She tried to throw consecutive punches at her but Inoni dodged smoothly as if she was dancing. It fueled Sakura to yell, "STOP RUNNING AWAY, YOU DIKE!"

PUNCH!

Sakura was not prepared for the full fledged fist to the face by the girl who punched like professional. Sakura was just left dazed after the impact that she didn't comprehend that she was on the ground or that her face was in pain. When it reality came back crashing down on her, she was still left on the ground, unsure of what to do. Inoni wasn't special to her like Sasuke was, she wasn't her rival like Ino was, and she wasn't just anyone she could push around like Naruto was. There was no connection nor room to beat this girl down.

Inoni looked down at her in disappointment, "What? Are you gonna be a bitch or be pathetic? I only came to avenge my sister."

That gave Sakura something to grab hold of between the two of them. "So you came here to beat me up? For your information, just because you're Ino's twin sister, doesn't mean that you can just butt into our rivalry!"

Inoni snorted, her greenish blue eyes darkening at the idea. "Rivalry? Please. Just cuz you were chosen to be prettier by a bunch of half-grown boys and have a brain behind that huge-ass forehead of yours, doesn't make you a true kunoichi."

"That's big coming from a so-called girl like you!"

"At least I'm acting like a fuckin' ninja who can protect my teammates. Daira and Kunose is so fuckin' tired with your attitude, that they went to Sasuke to get him to trick you into think he actually gave a shit."

Sakura gasped in surprise, "They did what?"

Inoni just continued, "And Sasuke denied cuz he had better things to do. Hah, I bet you're thinking that you wouldn't mind it if Sasuke did lie. You'd just twist everything into what you want to see."

"That's not true!"

"Whatever." Inoni turned to leave. "Ino wasted her childhood being friends with a twisted, selfish bitch like you."

"Take that back!" Sakura finally stood up with balled fists. "If anyone is the twisted, selfish bitch, it's you and Ino. You just like to act like you're better than everyone and Ino just wanted me as some tag along to make her look better!"

Inoni clicked her tongue, facing back to the pink girl with disgust and disappointment that infuriated the other girl more. "Delusional. Expected from a spoiled girl like you. You have no idea what its like to be made responsible for someone and how to make friends. Did you really take my sister's kindness for selfishness? You think that the whole time she's been makin' ya confident of yur forehead n' givin' ya friends that she just wanted to show you off like some dog you are?"

"Stop calling me a dog! And Ino is just that kind of girl! You're just have too big of a sister complex to see it! Ino has been looking down on me from the start, so I made ourselves rivals to reveal who she truly was, and fight her to show who's better!"

"With Sasuke, yada yada, I heard all this before. Geeze, you're never gonna bloom with these line of thoughts. All these terrible things you think about yourself is just on you. Ino had nothing to do with your shitty self-esteem and negative thoughts. Geeze, you'e a wreck." Inoni sighed out of exasperation. "I didn't come here to give ya this long of a lecture but I guess for Daira's and Kunose's sake, I'll tell you a hint to get Sasuke's attention." Sakura looked at him suspiciously, about to say something but the kunoichi quickly told her, "Start acting like a real damn ninja. Sasuke only acknowledges other ninjas. He talks ta me cuz I can do my damn job and be an asset to the team without also being a helpless target. You're making us support ninjas look bad, and Sasuke don't have time for that. If you really want Sasuke ta see you as not an annoying bitch, then stop acting like one."

Sakura was left silent. She knew that already. It's just that...being a ninja was harder than she expected. She can't help freezing when a real threat appears. She trains with her teammates, but they're always steps ahead of her that she can't keep up. And them helping her, only bruised her ego more. She may have a big brain, but she couldn't utilize it in a real battle.

Feeling lost, she decided to watch Team 7 train. Even though Sasuke harshly rejected her, she was still in love with him. She couldn't help herself as she watched team 7 fight against Kakashi's clones. Sasuke was cool as usual. Ino was annoyingly good, too that Sakura was wishing she'd just fall flat on her face. When she did lose against her sensei, Sakura couldn't help snickering, but she'd gasp when Sasuke also lost. But at least he lasted longer than Ino!

Sakura didn't pay much attention to Naruto like usual but soon, she couldn't help watching. The class clown with no skills suddenly fought with more grace. His movements swung as if he was having the wind carry him. His twist and turns on his feet and growing ability to multitask with his limbs were surprisingly amazing. Yet he still landed on his butt as a loser.

"Wow, Naruto! You really improved after being trained by my grandpa." Ino told him. "You really moved like a tornado or whirlpool just like your family's crest!" She pointed at the red swirl on Kakashi's sleeve.

"Hehehehe!" Naruto blushed by the compliments, "You bet I am! I'm a tornado, baby! A whirlpool of amazement!"

"Okay, cool it down. But you really did come a long way Naruto. You were this idiot who had nothing but his big mouth, but now you actually have some skill that won't be used for pranks."

"Hey! Weren't you supposed to be complimenting me!" Naruto fumed.

Sasuke remarked, "If she did just that, you'd let it get to that small head of yours, and start acting like a doofus."

"Who're ya callin' a doofus, bastard!"

"I better tell you slowly, so you can catch on."

"Why you-!"

"Okay, okay, that's enough you two." Kakashi stepped in between them to move on with the training where they were to come at him as a team. Sasuke and Naruto stepped forward while Ino remained at the back as support. Sakura had been too busy or depressed to watch them, so she focused on their teamwork. She never dreamed that Sasuke and Naruto could fight as a duo. However, the two moved in sync against their sensei with Ino throwing weapons at her sensei or to the boys. Sakura couldn't see it but she definitely believed that Ino was possibly using her telepathy to help them in their teamwork.

Sakura envied that Ino came with a clan that actually gave her special training and gifts. Honestly, that was cheating. Sakura came from a clan that wasn't special in any way. Inoni was just too full of herself, thinking she had any right to lecture her or give her any pointers.

Her attention was caught when Kakashi used a clone to disrupt Ino's support to her teammates, and Sakura expected her to become hopeless like she would've been in that situation, but Ino didn't falter. The look in her eyes weren't anything that Sakura had seen before. They weren't filly with a sunny-like brightness from her confidence. Instead they glinted like a blade as she faced the clone without losing the opportunity to continue aiding her team.

Ino shone her clever side in tricking and manipulating her sensei who had caught onto some of the tricks, but it wasn't all of them. A Naruto clone suddenly appeared to aid Ino, and they moved as if they were two magnets that determined the movement of the other. As dumb as it may seem to think, but Sakura didn't think that that was through telepathy at all. They moved too quickly and in such a way as if they just knew in their bones of what the other needed to succeed.

Sakura's eyes opened to see Naruto acting as both the fighter and the support of the team. This allowed Ino to switch roles as well to show off her taijutsu before having Naruto constrict the clone, so Ino could take it out. She then turned to the real Kakashi, pitching some sort of bag at the sensei. Naruto helped Sasuke jump into the air to use his fire jutsu to hit the bag. Clones of Naruto held the real Kakashi down. He was able to get them off, but didn't have enough time to get out of the explosion unscratched.

Kakashi did lost his footing when something slippery was beneath his feet. Sasuke took the opportunity to stab him with kunais, but it turned out to be a wooden dummy.

Yet the real Kakashi who was hiding beneath the ground couldn't hide his chakra low enough for Ino not to track him within her range. This led to her using some sort of unique liquid to soak into the ground and soften the dirt above him. Sasuke then used his fire jutsu again burn their sensei, but the man was quick to escape. Yet Naruto who had his clones waiting at every possible angle was there to try to stop him.

The fight continued on until they were exhaust and Kakashi was also a little breathless compared to his worn out genins. He became that way since Naruto's stamina outmatched his own, but the ninja still had a long way to go before he could successfully beat him.

"Excellent. Your teamwork is improving, which means there is still much improvements to be desired, but you are steadily heading there. Sasuke, you did amazing as always. You showed to be able to be both a leader and a follower as you allowed Ino to lead the situation since she had a better idea of the situation. Your skills as an Uchiha have also been improving, and I'm glad to see that you put your team's abilities into consideration to complete the goal. And not insistent on using the new jutsus and moves I taught you just because this is mere practice."

Sasuke said, "I had a good example not to." Ino covered her snort while Naruto was clueless.

Kakashi continued on to Ino, "I could say the same for Ino. I'm pleased to see that you added your family's weapons into your arsenal."

Ino smirked with determined eyes, "My family and I own a flower shop after all. It's only natural that we know various poisons and chemicals."

"I didn't know poisons could soften the ground." Naruto said.

"That wasn't a poison, Naruto. It's one of Yamanaka's special concoctions that we use. A lot of plants need their own soil, so we make it ourselves."

"Whoa!" Naruto was greatly impressed.

Ino happily smiled with a small blush on her cheeks. She then said that she had enough chakra to help heal Sasuke, and Sakura who remained watching was surprise to see Ino using medical ninjutsu. Sakura remembered Ino telling her when they were kids that she would learn that since she would become the support in her team. She grimaced at how close her hands were to Sasuke's face, and how she used her damn handkerchief to wipe the dirt off his face! The nerve of that girl taking points! Sakura bet that she would've done a better job!

Kakashi continued, "Naruto had also shown to be improving his ability to work as a teammate, but you seem to not be taking any leads to our trainging. You showed once in our mission at the Country of the Waves your ability to be a tactical leader, but you still haven't been able to show that sort of skill again. Though Sasuke and Ino can lead well enough, you also need to show a bigger initiative. Not in your skills but how you can utilize others. You won't be able to become a chuunin until you master that."

Sakura thought Naruto was just going to talk big again, but surprisingly the boy spoke with a more calmer, mature tone, "I know that. It's just that I wanna be more focused on improving myself first as a ninja since I just started my new training. I do think up ideas of how we can make this team work, but I haven't perfected it." That last part didn't sound entirely safe and promising to everyone, but they didn't comment, "Sasuke and Ino may have gotten a head start, but I'm not that far behind. Believe it!"

Kakashi smiled at Naruto's serious declaration. He guessed that it must be part of Inoma's doing.

"Good. We'll train again tomorrow."

Ino sighed tiredly at that fact. Naruto was excited while Sasuke acted cool like usual. Naruto then suggested eating at Ichiraku's for a celebration but Ino shut that down for a home meal at Choji's place instead. Kiba's, Inoni's and Daira's team were heading there for dinner after doing whatever they did today. Naruto was hesitant but Ino pointed out that she can tell Choji to make an order since the more food the merrier.

Sakura frowned as they left. They really were good as teammates and Sasuke looked...happy. Happier than he's ever been as he teased Naruto and chatted with Ino.

If only...she could pull Ino away and take her place. Somehow make Ino fall in love with someone else. Anyone at all!

Sakura walked through the dimly lit streets of Konoha but then a flier caught her eye. It was a couples competition tomorrow and there was a metal box underneath it. This kind of competition involved an obstacle course where couples are expected to help each other go through it without ninja tricks and if they win without cheating, then they get a big prize.

She stared at this and then wrote on a piece of paper: Ino Yamanaka and Naruto Uzumaki.

There. Now that she did that, she felt determined to continue on her quest for Sasuke. She took Inoni's advice to better herself as a ninja.

._._._.

A/N: I'M NOT BACK! Just had the time to finish this chapter.

So yeah, Sakura is pretty much the short-term villain in this. She's just... a really misguided 12 year old. I honestly believe that if she wasn't in Sasuke's team, she would do a lot of underhanded things to get her way, blame herself a bit only if Sasuke made her feel like it, and then put the blame on others to justify her actions...like she normally does... Honestly Sakura and romance is a huge-ass NO.

Inoni just really wants her to get her shit together, so she and Ino didn't have to deal with her antics.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: U-uh, hi...It's been awhile. Almost a year to be exact *Sweat drops*. Okay, so I will continue (Don't how long before my next hiatus), and I'm not sure if I'll get the characterizations right like the last time since I'm just getting back on board with Naruto again. And hopefully I'll remember all the plots I had outside of the manga to fully flesh out this story like I meant to previously, but there will be changes to them...

And this chapter is more of a tease to Naruino, but it'll remain platonic. Feel Good by Gryffin, Illenium ft. Daya always get me in that Naruino mood.

And I might NOT actually go with Narusaku in the end if any of you are following this story for that ship. They might end up with different people. NOTHING IS SET IN STONE! But yeah...

* * *

"IIIIIIIINOOOOOOOOO!"

"WAH!" Ino jumped out of her bed just as her father burst into her room. "What the freak?! Dad! Why are you yelling so early in the morning!"

"THIS!" He showed Ino what he got in the mail, which appeared to be a pretty card with hearts on it.

She took it for closer inspection, and didn't see what the big deal was until she read it. "Congratulations! Ino Yamanaka and Naruto Uzumaki, you were chosen as one of the top contenders in the KONOHA LOVE COMPETITION! The prize this year is a free fancy dinner for a family of five at Konoha's famous restaurant! So we expect to see you there at 4 before the opening at 4:30. Congratulations to your love!"

"WHAT?!" Ino knew about the competition, but not that she was attending it. She also knew that people could vote for others in the box so someone was the culprit! It couldn't be Inoni even if she liked to be a trickster since she wasn't into doing anything underhanded to those she's close with. She knew only one other person responsible!

She quickly went over to Naruto's place, ignoring her father, to see that he hadn't checked the mail yet so she did it for him, and he was also just as shocked. "WHAT THE HELL! We're not a couple!"

"I know right! But it's without a doubt that because of that silly rumor, we got chosen!"

"Then shouldn't we just ignore it then and not show up. It's not like we're actually going out."

"You're right." She looked down at the card again. "Buuuuuuut..."

Naruto didn't like that hesitation. "What?"

"The grand prize is a free meal to Konoha's best restaurant which is known to serve the best quality food, including omusubi, Sasuke's favorite food. I went there once with my dad when it was him and mom's wedding anniversary, and let me tell you that it's delicious! One plate could even make a glutton like you full, Naruto. It doesn't serve ramen, though, but it has one of the best red bean soup you can get!"

"Oooooh." Naruto liked the sound of that.

"Aaaaand, it's Sasuke's birthday tomorrow, so since you don't have a gift, and don't wanna bother spending money, this is perfect! We just have to pretend to be a couple and win!"

"Oh I see! Ah, but can we really win? People might think we're a couple, but do they expect to kiss or something?"

"No, you idiot. Have you not watched these competitions? Of course you haven't. The Annual Love Competition in Konoha consists of three courses. The first one is the question quiz."

"QUIZ?!" Naruto thought he was gonna have a panic attack.

"NOT that kind of quiz! I meant they're going to ask questions about us. Like, Ino, do you know what Naruto's favorite color is, and I'll answer, orange."

"Oooooh! And if I had to answer, I'd just say purple!"

"Exactly. But we're not allowed to cheat. The staff knows about my telepathic ability, so I'll be made to wear a headband that'll prevent me from doing that. And they'll have security that'll make sure that you don't have a clone switching places with you."

"I see! I see!" Naruto nodded as he took in this wisdom. "And the second?"

"It's a trust obstacle, and we're only allowed to do a minimal amount of jutsus to make it fair game with the other competitors. For example, I am allowed to use my telepathy but I'm not allowed to use my Mind Control Jutsu on you. And for the obstacle itself, each of us will be running through the course blindfolded and giving each other directions to pass through the obstacles, like if I tell you to jump a foot high, you have to do it. Make sure that all of your demands have specific measurements. But since you're terrible with numbers, just say whatever thing is as high or wide to you and I'll do my best."

"That sounds difficult. Will we really win at this point? I mean unlike us, the other competitors actually had time to practice. But for us, we have to go meet sensei in half an hour and do missions."

"I figured. And we don't have the time to really go over any of the obstacles. Especially since obstacle 3 is where we're allowed to do any jutsu we want. We're expected to demonstrate a performance that represent our love. They'll allow us an hour to rest and practice our routine before this event."

"Why don't we ask Kakashi-sensei to skip out on missions today so we can do this?"

"Good idea. Let's go ask after we get ready. See you at the meeting place, Naruto!"

"Bye!"

The two got ready and they went to the meeting spot where Sasuke already was. They then remembered that Kakashi was always late to the meeting, so they took the opportunity to at least think over obstacle 3. They thought about going over obstacle 1 for the quiz but Ino remembered that the quiz was at random. Sometimes the questions will center on who the couples are. Another is what a couple would do in a situation. And the last one was about how much they can remember the details of how they first met. They could spout random facts to each other but it was like getting ready for a pop quiz for a theory class so it was partially pointless. They'll just ask each other personal questions as they went on with planning. They also just had to have faith that they could predict what the other would answer.

Sasuke knew about the Love Competition and already figured out who must've been behind that and that the two were after the prize, so he left them to their devious plans. Though he wouldn't care to listen, hearing them try to figure out the best way to represent their love was interesting.

"We can't incorporate ramen into our routine. Mister Teuchi and his daughter is going to be part of the audience and if they cooked it before hand, they're going to become soggy."

"Good point. But we can't just have flowers in our routine. Something that represents me has to be in it somehow."

"There's gotta be something other than ramen. It's definitely not going to be you pulling pranks with that sexy jutsu of yours. And the Uzumaki symbol is already on every ninja's backs." The two thought hard, but decided to settle with figuring out the performance. Naruto wanted it to be loud and full with awesome tricks. Ino want it to be romantically graceful and dramatic. So they settled with a dance performance that involved Naruto's clones doing tricks.

"Of course our dance has to come with a theme." Ino told him. "Like we can't just dance to impress people. We have to send out a message. Of course our basic theme is love but how is our love different from others?"

"That's hard since we're not in love, but if we think of it as friends, isn't it through the morning glory flower you gave me. I mean other couples would just say their promises to each other, but our own is actually represented through that flower. We both promise to be the best of teammates and friends to each other."

"But that's to represent our friendship. We need to go a level higher. Liiiiiike...you are an Uzumaki whose clan is represented through a whirlpool and I am a Yamanaka whose clan is represented by the boars in the mountains where bush clovers grow. Mmm, whirlpools and boars don't really go together." She groaned at how hard this was becoming. They weren't in love so what could make that false connection?

"Weeeelll," Naruto placed his chin on the back of his fist as he thought, "The Uzumaki clan was people who had lots of energy and stamina with long lives, and you told me before at the hospital that a beautiful scenery helps make people heal faster. The Yamanaka are people who like help garden flowers and stuff. How aboooouuut... 'Long Life in Beauty'."

Ino's and Sasuke's faces dropped.

Ino burst out, "THAT'S GENIUS! Oh Naruto! You know me so well!" She hugged him with full force. "Long Life in Beauty! We can definitely make something epic and grand with that theme!"

The girl's ideas started flying out and Naruto just followed along until he wanted to give his input. Sasuke just watched but he also kept an eye out for other competitors spying on them. He was able to scare a couple away. The next thing he knew, he became a commentator for their ideas. It was all nonsense to him, but he was all about technique and rationality so he helped them in that aspect at least.

Kakashi arrived to his genins doing some acrobatic tricks with Sasuke being the coach. They declared to him on short notice that due to Ino and Naruto being part of the Konoha Love Competition, they had to bail on the missions for today. They then abandoned their sensei who honestly had no power to handle them when they were like this.

After they were able to get it down with the right stuff to wear, they practiced before an hour of the competition. When they arrived at the open fields where the first obstacle took place, nearly all of Konoha were already sitting at the bleachers. At the center was the stage was where seats were placed before a glittery, heart covered background.

Naruto was surprised by the amount of people. "Wow. All these people came here?"

"Yo!" Inoni with Shikamaru and Choji appeared. "Heard from dad, sis, and" The older twin couldn't help snorting, "Can't believe you guys are actually competing. I just came to get snacks on Choji's treat, but now I get to laugh my ass out when you and whisker-boy duke it out with the other competitors!"

"And we're gonna win!" Naruto declared. "Believe it!"

Shikamaru groaned. He only came along because he couldn't help being curious, too, if Ino and Naruto was going to go through with this. Choji worriedly asked, "Are you sure about doing this?" Inoni activated the telepathy with Ino checking with Naruto and Sasuke first before the group talked, _"I mean you and Naruto will have to act all lovey dovey. These competitions can become pretty intense. Especially for the last obstacle. You guys can be all flashy and cool, but if there's no love, it's pointless."_

Ino answered, _"Naruto and I don't believe that we can actually win, but it's worth a try! Besides, it's not like the losing couples don't get awards, too, depending on their points. But we're definitely going to try to fake it to win the number one prize!"_

 _"That's right! I might not be in love with Ino, but we're definitely an unstoppable duo! We even beat Sasuke together!"_

 _"Let go of that will you."_ Ino looked tiredly annoyed at Naruto who just grinned like an idiot.

 _"Who signed you up for this anyway?"_ Choji inquired, though he knew the answer, _"Was it really Sakura?"_

 _"Who else can it be chubs?"_ Inoni thought dryly.

 _"Hey! It could've been anyone!"_ Naruto defended. _"Ino and I are a pretty popular couple, and it's not like it takes one vote to just get us pick out of the ton other couples in Konoha! Right?!"_

Ino answered, _"Let's just let that go. We should focus on winning. Naruto,"_ The girl looked at him expectantly. Naruto was lost for a second before remembering that she meant for him to actively reached out his hand for her. It was a subtle show of affection as they seemed to look like they were still focused on the conversation.

 _"Trained the brat, huh."_ Inoni teased. Naruto was about to burst at her, but Ino barked out his name as a sign to stand down. And then Ino scolded her sister for provoking him. The twin just snorted, waving goodbye since it was almost time for the events. Yet she stayed when she saw pink hair in sight.

"Ooooh! What are you guys doing here? _"_ Sakura appeared, acting all innocent.

Inoni called her out on it telepathically, _"Oh please, you know exactly what you did. Oh and what do I see. No surprise that you ain't with your teammates."_

Sakura glared at her, yet remained calm, _"I don't know what you're talking about. And what's your problem with me anyway? What I do has nothing to do with you so buzz off!"_

 _"I'll buzz off after I-"_

 _"Enough!"_ Shikamaru demanded, finally talking out loud, "What a drag. Let's just go find our seats, and eat some food while cheering these two on." He then thought to Inoni, _"You might get us all kicked out and your sister disqualified."_

Inoni clicked her tongue, _"Snapping Pinkie here would take a sec that security won't notice."_ The older twin passed a chilling glance at Sakura who felt the urge to step back. _"Buuuuut,"_ She looked over to Ino who glared at her disapprovingly. The elder understood that her sister felt that she was over stepping her boundaries. She was the rival after all, but right now wasn't the good time to fight. _"Can't upset."_ She walked away after telling her sister good luck.

After they were gone, Sakura smirked triumphantly as if she won that battle. She then tried to chat up to Sasuke, but the boy ignored her, walking away to find his seat. Sakura's face faltered at the indifference. Naruto quickly tried to cheer her up, but she just glared at him, calling him annoying before walking away. The poor ninja felt his heart ache at her coldness. Ino sighed at how difficult things became. She then patted Naruto's back to cheer him up before the two went onto the stage.

Sasuke found his seat beside Kakashi and Iruka who heard about it from Konohamaru who saw the news of who the top five couples were going to be. Konohamaru was also in the crowd beside his friends and sensei as well as Asuma. Sakura slipped her way through to get a seat behind Sasuke, and he ignored her. Inoni and her gang sat near Kiba and his.

Ino noticed the Inuzuka and waved at them, "Hey guys! Thanks for coming!" She then noticed Hinata who was her usual shy self. They weren't close but she had to yell, "Yo Hinata! I didn't see you at the dinner yesterday! Make sure to come next time! I felt like the only girl there! Let's chat next time!"

Hinata looked shocked to be talked to, and then she looked down in discouragement. Ino arched an eyebrow at that attitude. Seriously, what did she do this time?

Inoni nudged Kiba's arm to ask, "What's with her?"

"Hinata? Oh, uhm." He didn't know if he was allowed to spill when she was right there. Inoni nudged his and Shino's minds for telepathy then, and Shino answered, _"Hinata likes Naruto. Why? Not a clue."_

 _"Huuuuuh. I'll break them up in a week, so she can hang tight."_ Inoni let them know and they gave her the thumbs up.

 _"Uuuuuugh!"_ Naruto groaned mentally, _"I can't do this after all! Not when Sakura is watching! She might actually believe that I'm in love with you!"_

 _"Oh hush, she knows we're doing this for the prize, so get over it."_ Ino scolded him as they took their seats at the center of the stage with the host at her podium. _"Focus on the prize. We're doing this for Sasuke's birthday and you'll also get a deal out of it, so pull yourself together! You don't have to exaggerate or anything. Just please be considerate."_

"Alright, alright." Naruto mumbled.

Ino smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek for appreciation and to trick the people in the crowd. It seemed to have erupted some whispers among them.

Just as it was about to begin, Ino was handed a cute flower headband that would prevent her from using her telepathy. The host took her place and introduced herself and the lovers in a way that fired up the crowd.

"Na-Naruto." Hinata mumbled beneath her breath, frowning as her childhood crush was handed a poster board and marker. A wooden board was placed between the couples and Ino was made to wear earplugs.

"Now, now, now, let's get to the questions! Since we have some kids here, let's keep it PG everyone." The host told them. "But before we get down to the nitty gritty, let's ask some questions of our couples. And we all know it's more fun hearing one side. Especially you cute people here. Let's start with you, young man."

"Me?" Naruto pointed at himself.

"Yes you since you and miss lady Ino have just gotten together recently, but have been the talk of the village! I bet everyone is curious as to how you guys got together! Give us the details!"

Naruto didn't see why he was made to answer this alone, but it wasn't like he wasn't prepared. Ino told him to just be completely honest and that they started dating some time ago. There didn't need to be a specific time. "Uhm, where do I start? I guess it started when Third made me and Ino be on the same team. We never talked back at the academy since we never paired up for class or anything like that. Plus, everyone knew that she was a Sasuke fangirl, so you'd think she'd be with Sasuke, right, but it looks like I'm the lucky guy!" Naruto chuckled nervously that Shikamaru had to face palm himself. "But it didn't happen right off the bat. We were actually on bad terms at first."

"Bad terms?"

"Yeah." Naruto thought back to their genin test. "You know how before we ninjas become genin, we had to work as a team. Well, let's just say that I wasn't the best teammate since I thought Ino was just this high-maintenanced crazy Sasuke fangirl. I didn't trust her leadership, so I kinda blew her off when she needed me. We still passed when sensei gave us a second chance, but I still felt bad cuz even though she thought I was a brat like everyone else, she still took a chance on me. I know only one other person who ever did that for me and that was Iruka-sensei."

"Your teacher from the academy?" Naruto nodded, which intrigued the host. "I see. You're not a popular guy, are you Mr. Naruto. So you're saying that Ms. Lady Ino is the first girl to ever show any affection to you."

Naruto blushed, "U-uh, yeah I guess. I mean she nags at me all the time, but she's also very sweet and kind. She always checks on me to make sure I'm alright, even making sure I'm eating well at home since I live alone. We spend nights just talking."

"She's slept over at your house?"

"Yeah! I bought a futon so she could."

"A futon? So you're not sharing the bed?"

"What?! No! We're twelve! Plus her dad would kill me if we did! Then in the morning we'd make breakfast together, and she'd help me study since I was the dunce of the academy."

"And what do you do for her?"

"Me? Uhm...I'm not sure to be honest. For a girl like Ino, there's not much you can do for her since she's smart and also really clever and she comes from a really loving family who have one of the most amazing jutsus I've ever seen, and they even have other really cool unique weapons since they run a flower shop! Did I tell you that she's a medical ninja, so she can heal me and Sasuke when we need her! I'm truly grateful for the Third for setting us up with Ino because I can't imagine having a better kunoichi for a teammate! But despite all that..."

"Hm?"

"Sorry, I can't finish that sentence since it's pretty personal, but it's definitely something I wished she could be more open to having a problem about. I mean she has everything, but I don't think it's wrong for her to want what I personally believe she should have. I have no clue at all about how to give it to her since I don't know any other girls, but when Ino does have it, I wanna support her at least. She's done so much for me..." Naruto felt his chest welled up thinking back to all the kindness that Ino had given him, "I want to always love and support her for the rest of my life."

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! We just got the love word out of this man!" The host then moved on to the other contestants before moving on to the first three questions. "First question, let's start off with an interesting one: If your partner was to play the would-you-rather game and had these three selections, which one would it be: Would your significant other rather A) Be stuck with you in a genjutsu of their fantasies, B) Be stuck in the real world where both of your fantasies are impossible, or C) Place the both of you on a genjutsu to live in a world of your fantasies."

That was a very odd question, but Naruto answered it nonetheless with ease when the host asked him which one it would be. "I'd have to go with B because Ino does love to fantasize, but she'd be trying to make that a reality, y'know. People would think us becoming a couple would be impossible, but Ino proved them wrong."

"You weren't open to being a couple?"

"Oh no! I mean it's crazy because I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Hearing that name should already give you an idea of who I am if you heard the adults complain about me. But Ino was really forward in doing this." That wasn't a lie.

 _"We did spend about four months together since April."_ Sasuke thought. _"Even I could answer that as easily as Naruto."_

After getting all the answers, the host moved on, "Kay! Next question: If your significant other asked for your opinion on how they look, what would your usual response be?"

When it was Naruto's turn, he answered, "I'm usually really honest with what I say. When we would go shopping together, she doesn't think much about my opinion, but she at least give it a second thought, so i'll just say my honest opinion."

"So if she ask if a dress looks fat on her, you tell her it is?"

"I don't think that's possible since Ino trains hard every day, that I'm glad she dropped her dumb diet when Kakashi-sensei actually got serious about our training. If a dress does make her look fat, then it's the dress's fault. Ino looks perfectly fine the way she is."

"Oh, how sweet!" The host was just as surprised at how lovingly considerate this troublemaker was. Girls from all ages were making quite the buzz about how good the answer was and how jealous they were that Ino had such a loving boyfriend, but didn't necessarily want their boyfriends to be Naruto entirely.

But as sweet the comment was for the girls, Kakashi sweat dropped at being somewhat called out for being a bad sensei in their early stages of training. Iruka didn't quite catch it as he was too busy being at awe of how mature Naruto had gotten over the last four months. He was also deeply surprised that him and Ino were dating, but considering how well he saw them get along, he believed it.

"Now the third question! What is the absolute one thing about your partner that you love and never want to change and what's one you might wanna change? And we gonna spare your relationships so it gotta be a body part with its searing detail. Like the color of their eyes. The way they smile or smirk. Or maybe y'know, but think of something else cuz this a family game remember!"

Naruto didn't need to think hard at all on that. In fact all these questions were already at the top of his head. When it was his turn, he didn't miss a beat, "Well, if I'm gonna be honest, I have to say the one thing I definitely love and don't ever want to change are her hands!"

"Hands, darling?" That was an odd choice from the boy.

Naruto crossed his arms, nodding firmly with his decision. He then openly explained, "It's because she's a gardener and a medical ninja, y'know." He then added, "But if there is one thing I would change, it would be her hairstyle."

"Hairstyle?" Another odd choice.

"Definitely! I mean, I don't get the whole having bangs thing that hides part of your face. I think that someone as pretty as Ino could show it more!"

Those seem like reasonable answers, so the host moved on to the next step of having the cardboards removed, and for the partners to remove their earplugs.

"Alright gentlemen and ladies, time for you to figure out what your s/o said. I gave them three questions, and now it's your job to match the answers. The ones you get right, you'll get ten points. But answer half-right for a two-part question, you'll get five!" The host then repeated the first question about the fantasies.

Ino answered right on beat because she knew what she wanted, and Naruto had to match her. "Definitely B! I'm all about making my fantasies a reality even if I'm told they're impossible. I mean who would believe I'd be dating Naruto, but he's shown sides of himself that made a girl like me head-over-heels!"

"Oh, and we've seen why! You have quite the young man with you! And let's see what he said." Naruto held up the matching answer, getting a happy cry from Ino who kissed his cheek, and Naruto couldn't help smiling big for getting close to the prize!

The host then said the second question about opinions on looks, and Ino answered again right off the bat, "Oh that's a no-brainer. I always ask him for his most honest opinion, and he's very blunt but accidentally sweet! This one time, I felt horrible wearing this really cute dress that I thought would be perfect for me, and Naruto so totally agreed with me that it made me look like a tower about to collapse!"

"Oh I remember that one! I don't know what you were thinking when you chose that dress, but you changed into something a lot better! It really brought out your eyes." Naruto wasn't really one to care for that sort of detail, but the gorgeous violet and aquamarine dress truly did make Naruto notice how dazzling Ino's eye color was.

"Ooooh! I know." Ino played off being complimented, but her cheeks were bright pink. She really is weak to them.

Iruka also remembered, "Oh, I was there that day. The dress really did."

Kakashi and Sasuke found that amusing to know that Ino would make Iruka and Naruto of all people her entourage.

Naruto showed that the answers matched which earned them a tie with two other couples while the rest were behind. Then came the last question which made Ino really think as she stared at Naruto who grinned at her.

She furrowed her brows and shortly bit her bottom lip. She then slowly said, "Knowing you, you wouldn't give a cliche' answer. So not my hair. Not my eyes. Not my smile. So I have to go for...hands for the first part, because you love it when we garden together, and you have a habit of touching them because they're soft." Ino grasped Naruto's hand, making him feel her well managed hands despite all the gardening and ninja training they endured. Naruto smiled down at them, and grinned at how soft they truly were. "And for the second one...I honestly don't know. My feet?"

Naruto's face drop. "Your feet? What's wrong with them? They're perfectly normal feet!"

"I don't know! What would you change about me?!"

Naruto held up his sign, "I said your hairstyle because I don't get that whole bang in front of your face! Don't pretty people usually want to show all of their face?"

"It's a style, Naruto! You just don't get it because you're Naruto."

"Yeah, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'll never get hairstyles! Believe it! You guys agree with me right!" He pointed at the crowd.

The audience laughed. Ino rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his forehead with the back of her hand. The game was then moved on for the next round with Ino and Naruto now one of the top two to win the prize. Naruto put on his own ear plugs as the board was placed between him and Ino.

"So now we get to hear the other side of the coin! Starting with you Miss Ino! How in the world was the number one trickster of Konoha able to catch a lady's heart like yours?"

Ino openly answered, "I'll admit I had my doubts about him, too, but once you really get to know him, he's one of the best people I know. Naruto's as devious as they come, but part of that makes him great with kids younger than us and be very clever during a mission. Not only that, but I think I can honestly call him my best friend since we go out together often outside of our duties, and he makes me feel..." Ino looked over to the cardboard between her and Naruto. Her chest suddenly swelled with a warmth at the remembrance of his words that day they truly bonded.

 ** _"I feel like the luckiest man in the world to have you as a teammate!"_**

 ** _"Thanks Ino, you really are an amazing teammate."_**

They truly made her world since it was so long since someone properly looked at her the way Naruto did. "...seen." That felt like the right word. "I have a big and loving family, was the academy queen, and known all over Konoha for the flower shop, but something like that is the status quo where I'm seen for one thing or another, but with Naruto, I feel like he sees all of me, and I terrify him, but he...loves me." Ino knew she was pushing it, but what she said felt right.

Everything became heavily silent that not even the wind made a sound. It made everything awkward that Ino burst out laughing to crash the awkwardness.

And the host helped, "Woooooooow. Wow. Uhm." She moved on to the other contestants who tried to match the atmosphere the preteen set for them, and some did throw in their own feelings, but the mood still felt a bit overwhelming until the questions finally came. Ino knew Naruto well so was able to answer the questions easily so they got back to being one of the top one winners close to the prize. Although the answering did come with many laughs from the crowd since Naruto was just as ridiculous as the answers that the two definitely was a favorite among most.

After that, the couple was along a short recess before the second obstacle.

"Top one, baby! Red bean soup here I come!" Naruto cheered.

"Whatever, don't forget what we're really here for." Ino reminded him, but Naruto played dumb, "Eh? What else?" Ino playfully got mad at him, but then hush hush when their friends approached them with the sensei. Iruka excitedly congratulated them, but then Inoni spilled what was really going on telepathically. Iruka was about the scream in surprise, but Ino covered his mouth and quickly telepathically told him without Sasuke connected of why they were doing it. She then scolded Inoni for almost getting them in trouble. Iruka thought about scolding them, but seeing how these games were just a play on love and their reasons were pure, he let it go.

Ino was relieved along with the others who was informed about what just happened. Naruto grinned, bragging about how him and Ino were invincible! Everyone either just shook their heads with smiles or snorted.

"You two definitely look like a more genuine couple than the others." Choji commented. "You two seem even more in love with each other than I am with barbecue pork!"

"What a drag. It'd be easier if you just ask your parents to foot the bill for the restaurant instead of going through all this trouble. I mean the restaurant is co-owned by Choji's family anyway." Shikamaru pointed out, lazily thinking of a shortcut.

"Hey, food taste better earned, Lazy deer." Inoni defended. "Besides, it's the only way Naruto could possibly pay for the date anyway." She winked at the boy.

"O-oh yeah." Naruto awkwardly laughed, avoiding eye contact with everyone. He wondered why Ino could've just done what Shikamaru wanted, but then she probably wanted him to earn the prize for Sasuke. But he didn't really care about Sasuke that much to go through all this trouble! Getting him some new weapons would've been a lot easier! They were always in need of new shurikens anyway! He really just wanted to leave the competition and just do that. They were just teammates anyway, and he doubted Sasuke would even actually appreciate or even go to the restaurant they worked hard for them to get a free meal at!

However...despite how he really felt and thought, he looked over to Ino who was chatting with the others. She really did care about Sasuke even if she probably knew he wouldn't care. He thought on the vague words he said about Ino getting what she should have and that was female friends, so she could go shopping and gossip and all that other girly stuff she used to do with Sakura. For all the effort and heart and faith she puts on everyone, he really wanted to see her happy, so maybe this competition wasn't so bad. Ino liked competition anyway.

With that track of mind, he held her hand to appear as a couple. Ino was surprised and confused, but then saw the awkward blush on Naruto's face. She was still a little confused, but couldn't deny that he was acting cute. She removed her hand and instead opted to wrap her arms around one of his and lay her head against his shoulder. Inoni started teasing them, getting a yell from Naruto.

Sasuke stared at his teammates, having remained silent for the most part. He realized that he could possibly just leave and train, but he felt like he should remain and at least cheer for them in his own quiet way. He could also take this opportunity to think up new strategies with Shikamaru to further insert Ino's techniques into their fighting styles. He knew Shikamaru didn't favor him, which he didn't mind. The two being civil with each other was enough, and Shikamaru seemed to lighten up when he realized Sasuke did care for Ino in his own way.

So as Ino and Naruto talked and joked about the second obstacle with Choji and Kiba, he conversed with Shikamaru about it. Inoni also joined in to talk about tactics. Shino surprisingly also appeared out of nowhere and talked about hunting and tracking.

Iruka was surprised to see this grouping. "I never thought I'd see the day Sasuke would talk with his classmates. Back in the academy, he always kept to himself that I was always concerned about how he might handle being in a team, especially considering that you never passed any of your students in the past."

Kakashi replied, "Looks like the hokage made the right decision to put Ino in Team 7 after all, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka nodded, "It definitely also has to be because of your training, Kakashi-sensei. Everyone, especially Naruto had grown up so much since the academy days a few months ago. I can say without a doubt that I am grateful that you're their teacher, Kakashi-sensei." The man gave the older his best appreciative smile.

Kakashi felt something within his worn soul spark a bit that words fell out of his mouth like porcelain plates, "...Iruka-sensei..."

"Hm?"

Kakashi immediately snuffed out the careless feeling, "Nothing. Just that you should be given most of the credit for being their teacher in the first place. I can see why you're popular among the staff and the Third himself."

Iruka blushed by the compliment, though waving it off, "What are you saying? I'm just a teacher compared to a Jounin like you, Kakashi-sensei. In fact, if it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have been the teacher I am now. I haven't forgotten about how you helped me and Naruto a decade back. I feel lucky we can see each other more often like this.*"

"Ah..." Kakashi really didn't know what else to say, but he could definitely feel his cheeks heat up a bit. Iruka seemed content not getting a reply, though.

Ino, Naruto, Choji and Kiba with Akamaru stared at them with deadpanned stares.

"Hey Ino, you think they should've been the ones in this competitions?" Naruto rhetorically questioned.

Ino rhetorically answered, "Knowing our sensei, he would've blown their chances before the competition with how aloof and late he is, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that at least he would've had more personality and self-control than if Shikamaru or Inoni joined."

Kiba snorted, "Inoni would've embarrassed her girlfriend, getting her ass kicked by her before the games ended."

Choji added amusingly, "And Shikamaru would've called the whole thing a drag and walked home."

Naruto joked along, "And I bet Sasuke would've done the same thing too!"

The group laughed. Ino couldn't help giggling. She would've been harsh to anyone who insulted Sasuke before, but actually getting to know the guy, it was so true it was funny. She still playfully elbowed Naruto for that though, which made Kiba laugh louder.

When their laughter died down, Ino then couldn't help noticing the stares she was getting from not only Sakura but by Hinata who frowned at her. She understood Sakura, but Hinata's attitude threw her in a loop.

But before she could ask Kiba, the announcement for the second obstacle was to begin. Everyone gave the fake couple their encouragements before they were greeted to a maze made of different walls from hedges to cement to bricks and more. Posts were also located throughout the paths. They were informed by the host that there were two parts of the obstacle race. One partner was to run through the first obstacle while the other was to jump from post to post but only if their partner had passed through the pole's location. The couples were warned that there were multiple traps laid out in the maze, and if a contestant was struggling with it, their partner was allowed to help them but only for a maximum of three minutes before they are forced to return to the pole or else they were disqualified. After crossing the first finish line, the couples were to switch immediately, and the same rules apply.

With that said, each couple was told which justsu and weapons they were and were not allowed to use. They were then led to their own individual entrance. Naruto was to begin first and Ino was to run to the first pole. The starting gun shot, and they were off.

Ino used her telepathy to help him, _"Left! Right! Right! Jump a foot ahead!"_ Naruto jumped over a camouflaged hole that the other couples had fallen for. Ino was able to recognize it thanks to Kakashi's harsh training to recognize traps from far distances. She had seven poles ahead of her, and the maze appear to take twenty minutes to cross. The crowd was kept up by the hidden cameras and screens shown only to them.

"Flip Naruto!" Ino cried out loudly through her mic, and Naruto leaped and flipped through the air like a hurricane as kunais and shurikens launched for various directions, and he landed perfectly before racing off again. The crowd was awed at such moves from the trickster.

Iruka's jaw dropped. "Na-Naruto?! Did you teach him that Kakashi-sensei?!"

"Ah, not me. I...had a special tutor help teach Naruto." Kakashi somewhat lied.

Iruka didn't care much for the details. He just needed the confirmation that what he saw was real! Naruto seemed to move rigorously without any technique, but now he was a pure acrobat that seemed to dominate the sky!

Naruto was fully aware that he must be awing the crowd with the moves Inoma drilled into him. He wasn't as graceful as Ino or as popular as Sasuke, but he was Naruto Uzumaki! He was going to show how great of an Uzumaki he was!

Kakashi definitely noticed that when he thought back to how his sensei's wife, Kushina used to fight. The Uzumaki clan definitely had great center control like a tornado. His eyes couldn't help seeing the red head kunoichi in Naruto. _"Inoma-sama, I told myself this before, but I can't help but wish I could meet you in person because you definitely outdid yourself. In a short amount of time, you were able to give Naruto no one ever could: his heritage."_

Naruto was able to get through the finish line before anyone else.

"WAY TO GO NARUTO!" Kiba cheered!

"OH YEAH! THAT'S MY FUTURE BROTHER-IN-LAW!" Inoni yelled out, scaring the life out of those closer!

"Tch." One of the contestants clicked her tongue. Unable to accept being second place even in a game like this, she leaped high to remember the structure of the maze. She used her photographic memory to get through the maze, and then right when she knew her and Ino were opposite of each other beside a hedge, she sneakily looked like she accidentally threw a kunai at the other side in order to trip the girl. Naruto caught the other opponent throwing the kunai so reacted to catch it himself, but then instead found himself shielding Ino as they were thrown back.

BOOM!

"INO!" Sakura immediately bounced from her seat in panic as everyone else did.

"HEY! WHAT THE FUCK DID THAT BITCH DO!" Inoni yelled in rage, having Shikamaru and Choji hold her back from making a scene.

"Naruto! Are yo-" Ino proceeded to remove her blindfold but Naruto stopped her.

"I'm fine. I just injured my leg. We're still in second place and ahead of the others. Just use your medical jutsu here before time's up." Naruto directed her hands.

Ino didn't hesitate to do that, but said, "Idiot, it doesn't matter what place we are! You're hurt! I don't care if we're last place or disqualified!"

Naruto lowly chuckled, "I know, but I'm no quitter, and we're definitely going to win! Believe it!" Once healed thanks to Ino and his Uzumaki genes, he leaped back to the pole. Ino thought he was an idiot, but she figured that since no one was calling off the race, she should as well go for it.

"What happened?! Why are they still going through with the race?! Somebody should cancel it now!" Iruka demanded, but Kakashi assured him, "It looks like the other contestant accidentally hit a fuse box, which caused a small explosion to erupt. That's also why half the traps that are electrical aren't being triggered."

"But why are they allowing the race to go on?!"

"I'm sure they considered it, but seeing as how no contestants are injured and the fire is taken care of, no harm no foul it seems. It's alright. Besides it looks like Naruto is fine thanks to Ino's medical ninjutsu."

Iruka was still antsy since he actually can't stand seeing his students hurt. At least not this early, but Kakashi was right, so he took a deep breath and put his faith in hoping it won't happen again.

"Medical ninjutsu..." Sakura knew Ino knew that, but now, she truly did understand how helpful that could be. She remembered what Sasuke had told her before about having a brain but never putting it to good use. She thought she was with her teammates when they relied on her to store information in that forehead of hers and break through genjutsu since her chakra control was on point. However, what good was any of that when someone got hurt. She was lucky her teammates were so capable, but she can't depend on it always being like that.

But can she...

"Medical ninjutsu comes in handy huh."

Sakura was spooked to find Inoni beside her all slouched forehead with her forearms on her lap.

The tomboy continued on nonchalantly, "Something more useful than trying to play tricks on my sister or fangirling like an idiot. And why stop at medical ninjutsu. There's plenty of jutsus out there that's not only allowed for those with a kekkei genkai or reserved for a hidden clan." She leaned back coolly. "For the smartest academic student, sure it'd be a piece of anpan for you to learn, and who knows, create something amazing out of yourself. That's definitely a worthy rival for my sister." Inoni spared her a look with unwavering belief.

Sakura stared at the elder Yamanaka, and felt her doubt and confidence blend awkwardly, but when she looked to Ino who still caught up to the cheating contestant despite the underhanded tactics, she felt a new inspiration blossom inside her. She fisted her hands with a trembling determination. Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see something in Sakura he hadn't seen before. A look of a ninja.

Things were definitely getting interesting as Ino and Naruto came out on the top spot, and the ones who were supposed to be in second place were disqualified. The top three couples were allowed to rest before the finale where the actual winner was to be decided!

Ino and Naruto were immediately surrounded. Iruka and Inoni were the most passionately distressed among them. Kakashi and Choji tried to calm them down while Shikamaru and Sasuke were the ones to check on them. Naruto grinned, telling them it was nothing and Ino was safe. He was definitely proud of the latter fact. Ino sighed, just glad that the games could still go on.

Naruto then took the chance to go to the restroom. After doing the deed, he saw Sakura on his way back. He noticed something different about her, but couldn't quite know what it was. But he had more important things to talk about. He pushed away his romantic feelings for her to get to it. "Hey Sakura!"

The girl heard him, "Naruto? What do you want?"

"Just to talk. I heard from Ino about how you two stopped being friends over Sasuke. I know it's not really my place, but Ino is someone important to me, and you're also someone important to me, too."

"Me?" Sakura arched an eyebrow.

"I mean...well, what I mean is...ugh, how do I put this?!" Naruto hated how he let his feelings slipped during a competition where he was supposed to be dating Ino. He used his clever brain to take a step back, "You used to be Ino's best friend, and honestly, I think what you did was wrong."

"Excuse me?!"

"I mean you two were best friends back then! And Ino really cared about you, and she still cares about you now. I think she misses being your friend, but is just keeping up with just being your rival for your sake. And honestly, I don't see why you can't be both friends and rivals. Sure you like the same guy, but Ino already knew you liked him, and still wanted to be your friend. You mattered more than Sasuke. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Sakura didn't know how to counter that in a way for Naruto to understand, and wasn't sure if she wanted to since it was none of his business to begin with. It was true that Ino knew that she liked Sasuke, but Sakura believed that Ino didn't consider her feelings to rival hers at all! Unlike her, Ino was practically handed everything to be the great kunoichi she was. If only she had came from a great clan, she would actually be on par or even better than Ino! But instead she was just stuck with her lame parents. Since the beginning, she was nothing. Even Ino told her she was nothing but a bud.

 ** _"A flower is meaningless unless it blooms, right? And it could grow into...a flower more beautiful than the cosmos."*_**

She's trying. She's trying! And she will definitely improve!

"Listen here, Naruto!" Sakura got up to his face, scaring the blonde a bit. "I get why you're concerned, but what's between Ino and I is strictly between us! I know I haven't acted mature...by spreading the rumor and putting you two in this competition..." She whispered the last bit with regret on her face, yet the light was bought back to her eyes, "But no more! I may not come from a great clan or proved my worth as a genin yet, but I'll show you and everyone that I do deserve my spot in Team 2 and will beat Ino in love and jutsu! Shannaro!" Sakura walked away, pumped up more than ever!

Naruto was left stupefied and then amazed by Sakura's energy and determination. He knew something was different about her! He went back to the group with a big grin, and then directed a well-meaning smile towards Ino. He didn't help resolve Ino and Sakura's friendship, but he got a feeling things would be alright between the two from now on. Ino wasn't sure what that smile went, but she was more focused on the last obstacle.

Fully re-energized and healed, the two got into costume. Naruto wore his orange yukata with a fox face mask on. Ino wore a plain brown yukata with a boar mask. Her hair was put into a low bun. They then did a light exercise and small practices to not give away their performance. Once it was their turn, the staff had prepared the field for them with a circle of crated flowers that Ino stood at the center of. Naruto hid behind one and then used his shadow clone jutsu to have his clones ready behind the other crates. Ino had prepared the music with the competition's provided band while Naruto was busy.

Once it began, Naruto's clones leaped through the air at an amazing height bringing a rainbow palette of flower petals descend. Ino danced across them with swift feet movement that threw the flower petals from the ground into the air. When the clones were about to land, Ino threw kunai to prevent them from touching the ground. Naruto then forged more clones that ran towards her from below, and she danced as if she were in combat with them as the flower petals danced across them.

Everyone was applauding for their quick yet stylish dancing that they honestly couldn't tell where this was going until Ino removed one of their mask, and Naruto grinned at her. The two touched back to back, and were fighting together in contact improvisational dance style. They rarely if ever lose contact with the other. Kakashi could see Sasuke's influence in their dance style by how Naruto's usual awkward movement was more precise and strong. "You did a good job." He told Sasuke.

The younger ninja critically watched them. "We just made this in a few hours. Naruto's feet is still not grounded enough. Ino is making up for that, but it's distracting her from giving her all."

Kakashi took another look to notice that, but was still impressed. Ino and Naruto weren't in love, but their dance definitely showed vitality, trust, and it was beautiful just as their theme was.

For their climax, further clones were created and destroyed that smoke made it hard for the crowd to see them. When it cleared, Naruto was alone. The hyped music picked up violently as he fought his own clones until one stood. He was about to destroy it, but when their hands touch, the music slowed down, and they entered a recognizable intimate dance. In the midst of it and out of sight the fox mask turned into the boar one. The clone then disappeared, and Ino revealed herself beneath the flowers in a gorgeous violet furisode decorated in a wave of flowers. Naruto and her smiled at each other before wrapping their arms around each other and softly touching foreheads.

Everyone applauded and cheered for them.

At the end of the game, Ino and Naruto were claimed the victors, but their prize was not a free meal at Konoha's restaurant. It was a family trip for five to a beautiful tropical island.

Ino and Naruto cried out along with the audience for the tremendous surprise. Ino was so hyped up and drunk with happiness that she looked to Naruto with all the appreciation in her eyes that just as a woman would do for her hero, she gave him a well-deserved kiss. And Naruto was too good in a mood to be bothered that he kissed her back.

All of their friends' and sensei's jaw dropped.

Sakura gasped, feeling a thrill at what she may have created.

"HEEEELLLLL YEAH!" Inoni cheered for them.

Ino giggled along with a laughing Naruto.

"U-uh..." Iruka just sighed out along with everyone else who knew that that kiss was nothing more than an impulse. Except for Hinata who immediately ran off.

After the games, Naruto and Ino agreed to give Sasuke the surprise on his birthday. The two explained to the others that the kiss was nothing but an impulse like they expected. And now without the high, the two immediately regretted it. Everyone just laughed, and congratulated them.

"So how long are you going to keep up the charade?" Inoni asked her sister as they walked home together.

Ino shrugged. "There's nothing really to keep up. Naruto and I aren't going to stop doing what we did that made everyone believe we were a couple. I guess once one of us get a partner, people will just assume we broke up." Inoni agreed with that.

"Ino." They heard Sakura's voice behind them. The twins looked back to see the girl and how serious she was. Inoni left her sister to it and went on home alone.

Ino faced Sakura, "So looks like your little trick came with some benefit." She wasn't sure whether to say that smugly or bitterly, so she came out stoic.

"Yeah...sorry about that." Sakura took a deep breath. "It's true that I was the one who spread the rumor about you and Naruto and signed you two up for the competition just to be petty. It was wrong of me, and put a bad taste on our rivalry. It was wrong of me." Ino was deeply surprised by this apology that seem to come out of nowhere. And Sakura wasn't done, "But I'm not doing that anymore. Don't get me wrong. There's no way I'm handing Sasuke to you, but I will step back a little to focus on becoming the kunoichi I promised I was going to be! I won't lose to you anymore!"

Ino remembered that they had a similar conversation like this before when Sakura gave her back her ribbon.

"Oh and one more thing, I'd like my ribbon back."

"What?"

"I have no use for the ribbon since I have my forehead protector, but it was rash of me to give you that ribbon back since you gave it to me back before I came to like Sasuke, too. If it's alright with you, I'd like to have it back."

Ino honestly didn't know what to say at first, but then the words she had always meant to say came back to her. "Alright, but just so you know, I never looked down on you or thought that you didn't have a fair chance to get with Sasuke. I guess you got that idea when I called you a bud. Sorry about that, too. I didn't mean to make you feel like you weren't anything back then. What I really meant to say was that you were and are a ninja with immense potential that you hadn't unlocked yet. We're both still in the process of blooming, and I know without a fact that you'll bloom into something that can possibly even surpass Sasuke or my sister. You were called the most beautiful and smartest in the academy for a reason, and I look forward to fighting you at your best."

Sakura felt a little moved and doubtful that she could surpass someone like Sasuke, but she was definitely going to try to be someone worthy of his side. She held a better understanding of that now. She nodded with a smile. "Thanks Ino. I wish for that, too." The two held hands on that, and then walked together towards Ino's home for the ribbon.

On the way, Ino bothered to ask, "So why the sudden change of attitude if you don't mind me asking?"

Sakura groaned, hoping Ino wouldn't have asked, "Nothing, just your sister kicked my butt for spreading the rumor, but she also helped me gain back a bit of my confidence and gave me some good advice at the competition. And that annoying teammate of yours Naruto talked to me about being your friend again. And as annoying as he was, he was right. I just wanted you to see me as an equal and I thought our friendship would get in the way of that, but the one who was in the way was just me and my poor attitude. I have been secretly watching you and your team train and I can say now that I can see why the hokage put you in a team with Sasuke. Not that I'm admitting defeat, but with how terrible Naruto was, you and Sasuke did a great job getting him on track with the rest of us. Kunose and Daira had been trying to help me out the same way, but I kept ditching them, which made me even worse than Naruto, and I couldn't stand that, you know! There's no way I can let that idiot beat me! Shannaro!"

Ino laughed, "Don't worry. You're still definitely smarter than him, and your teammates told me about how good you are against genjutsu. They told me that you may not be a competent fighter, but you're definitely the best at identifying genjutsu. They've been trying to get you into learning those types of jutsus, but your lack of interest made it hard."

Sakura groaned, "Now you're just making me feel worse..." the girl then thought back to what Inoni told her. "Maybe I will. Sure I don't have a kekkai genkai like Sasuke or come from a prestigious clan like you, but there's a ton of jutsus and techniques out there that I can learn like that medical jutsu you've been using."

"Oh you want to learn?!" Ino was excited by that. "The hospital is always happy to have students! And since you have such a good memory, I can get Shikamaru's family to help you learn all you need to even be better in that field! Maaaaaan, I'm jealous! I want to learn all these things, but I have the Yamanaka clan techniques to learn, a shop to work at, and Naruto to deal with! You may think you're behind Sakura, but with that big forehead of yours, you'll catch up in no time!" Ino said this with both excitement and bitterness.

Sakura smirked smugly at that fact, and also yelled, "Whose forehead are you calling big, Ino-pig!"

"Who else here has a forehead the size of billboard!" Ino yelled back with feint anger.

The two stared each other with smiles and burst out laughing. All the animosity and jealousy melted away, and the two gossiped and talked about the shops and restaurants and just plain girly things while throwing insults here and there.

Ino missed this and Sakura felt stupid for letting this friendship go for so long.

._._._.

A/N: Kinda threw Hinata cold in this, but something might come out of this later...maybe...So yeah, I hope I did Sakura justice in this. Unlike at the beginning of the Chuunin exams in the manga where Sakura's depression was cured by Sasuke just throwing in a compliment, I wanted her to regain confidence and friendship through acknowledging her faults but also her strong points, and the advantages of being a civilian. Unlike Ino and Sasuke who are confined within a clan's expectations and abilities, Sakura can decide the type of ninja she wants to be. Explore her genjutsu and medical talent along with her intelligence without Sasuke distracting her.

I also want Ino and Sakura to regain their friendship in a less hostile way filled with too much misunderstanding. Sakura believed Ino always looked down on her and that she was some tag-a-long when Ino seemed to just want to be her genuine friend and wouldn't mind also being her rival at the same time. Hopefully the ending played out well.

(And I wanted Sakura to end up with Naruto in the end, but last year when I created Inoni, I was like, wow, it'd be great if I made this will-become-transmale character into Sakura's boyfriend instead. I don't know. But Inoni definitely has a big crush on Sakura in this fic, but also has a big sister complex so her/his feelings for Sakura is on the fritz a little. But may come back again now that her and Ino patched things up.)

(If anyone is reading this note, tell me your opinion on whether Inoni could end up with Sakura?!)

(I'm also on the fritz of who I should make Naruto be with in the end because I'm more in favor of Nejihina. Yeah, they're cousins, but the Hyuuga clan and those similar like the Uchiha clan practice imbreeding and they don't suffer the genetic defects for doing it. Maybe Naruto doesn't have to end up with anyone...)

*Naruto Shippuden episode 177-178

*Naruto chapter 71


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